


Rouge

by Jongdaesdimple



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Future, Alternate Universe - Historical, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Best Friends, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Gen, Implied Sexual Content, Jealousy, M/M, Medical Experimentation, Mentions of alcohol, Psychological Torture, Seizures, Slow Burn, Strangers to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-04
Updated: 2019-08-01
Packaged: 2020-04-08 00:58:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 30
Words: 103,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19096501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jongdaesdimple/pseuds/Jongdaesdimple
Summary: (I swear the heavier tags are not as bad as they seem I'm just putting it there in case someone is particularly sensitive to it)Chanyeol and Baekhyun are having a normal day before meeting a strange man who tells them they have superpowers.This is loosely based off the EXO MVs where they have powers, I added a lot more content and it's sort of a different plot plus like ships but yeah hope you enjoy! Also a lot of references and dumb jokes I enjoy.MVs included: What is Love, Lucky One, Overdose, Power, Tempo, Love Me Right (barely) and oddly no MAMA





	1. Don't Kill Me

Author’s note: [ here ](https://78.media.tumblr.com/b19b0b03b079771acc58368d24f6ea04/tumblr_pahxsd6v7W1xxt0h1o1_1280.jpg)’s the layout of Chanbaek’s apartment

 

  
_28th of April 2018, Daegu, South Korea_  
  
Baekhyun woke up to the noise of his roommate playing the guitar loudly. It doesn't really bother him, he likes Chanyeol's guitar, but he usually likes sleeping in till at least 9 on Saturdays. Baekhyun waits for a minute, hoping Chanyeol will stop so he can go back to sleep. The guitar continues. Baekhyun begrudgingly gets out of bed and gets dressed. He walks into the kitchen and pours himself a bowl of cereal. Cereal first, he’s not a maniac.  
  
"You're up early," Baekhyun says, looking at the clock that reads 7:12.  
  
"Oh yeah... I wanted to finish writing this song before my lunch date today. Did I wake you? I'm sorry" Chanyeol responds, looking back at Baekhyun from the living room of their small apartment.  
  
"You did, but it's ok. You have a lunch date?" Baekhyun says smirking.  
  
"Uh, yeah, but I barely know her. She's in my genetics class and, honestly, I'm just hoping she can help me out. I'm struggling to remember all the sequences of base pairs that make up the amino acids" Chanyeol explains, getting off the couch and sitting on one of the bar stools of the breakfast nook/dinner table (very small apartment) in front of Baekhyun.  
  
"I have no idea what that means, but good luck" Baekhyun pauses to take a bite of cereal "How's the song coming along?"  
  
"It's actually working out better than I thought, I just need to figure out the lyrics for the bridge and then fix it up a bit."  
  
"I can help you out if you want" Baekhyun offers shooting Chanyeol a cute smile.  
  
"No, no, it's ok. You have your own project to finish" Chanyeol responds.  
  
Honestly, Baekhyun finished his song a couple of days ago and he just has to record it. When Baekhyun found out both he and his best friend got into the same music program at the same university, he was confused. He's known for a while Chanyeol wanted to be a vet, saying that he wouldn't want to work in the Korean music industry anyway. Chanyeol explained that a lot of people who get into the vet school in California (the best vet school in the world) study something they are good at, get amazing grades, and just have to make sure to have all of the required prerequisite courses. So, even though Chanyeol and Baekhyun are in the same program, their workload is very different. Which is why Baekhyun had no trouble finishing his song early.  
  
"I actually finished mine, so I really don't mind helping out. I didn't have any plans for today anyway" Baekhyun insists, they always write better together.  
  
"Alright, well then, sure, but you have to go buy us cookies and shrimp crackers," Chanyeol says with puppy eyes.  
  
"Wait, wait, I'm helping you, but I have to buy us snacks?" Baekhyun glares down at his friend.  
  
"You know we need snacks to work!" Chanyeol argues.  
  
"That doesn't mean I should buy them" Baekhyun points out.  
  
"Ok fine. Fair enough. I'll pay, but you go get them. I'm not in the mood to walk outside" Chanyeol says, taking out a 10 000 won bill from his wallet. Baekhyun looks at the bill being handed to him and back at Chanyeol.  
  
"And you think I want to walk?"  
  
"Pleaaaase" Chanyeol whines.  
  
"Yeah, ok fine" Baekhyun responds, taking the money from Chanyeol.  
  
"You're the best!" Chanyeol gets up and hugs his friend really tight.  
  
"Hello- I need to breathe!" Baekhyun says, pushing strongly against Chanyeol, trying to release himself from the bear hug. He isn't against skinship. Really, it's the opposite. He loves being friendly and cuddling, but he doesn't like being hugged that tightly.  
  
"No! I want to hug you" Chanyeol whines, like a child clinging to their teddy bear.  
  
"I can't buy you snacks if you don't let go" Baekhyun tries to reason with him while also trying to wiggle out of the hug. Chanyeol lets go mumbling a "true".  
  
After Chanyeol releases Baekhyun he grabs his headphones, jacket and walks out. The convenience store was actually a very very short walk from their apartment, they probably argued for longer than it would take to get there. The weather is really nice, a light spring breeze that made the new leaves sway slightly. It is peaceful seeming. He goes into the store and looks around for the requested snacks and ends up getting a few more and some little drinkable yogurts. He notices there is another person in the store, which is a little odd at this hour, it’s odder that the man doesn't seem to be buying anything. Baekhyun tends to let himself overthink the smallest things so he dismisses his thoughts and goes to go buy the snacks.

  
On the walk back Baekhyun's curiosity gets the better of him and he starts walking back to the store hoping to see the man. When he's across the street he sees the man leaves the store without any purchases. He has black hair, is somewhat tan and is wearing a very weird outfit. He's wearing what seems to be very expensive sneakers, red pants, a blue Gucci jacket. Not only is the colour combination odd but this isn't a rich neighbourhood. What was this man doing in the store? Baekhyun stops himself from following the man when he realizes he has to get back to the apartment before Chanyeol wonders where he is.  
  
"I got the snacks" Baekhyun announces walking into the apartment.  
  
"I'm guessing you bought more than the cookies and chips?" Chanyeol says walking towards Baekhyun, he knows his friend very well.  
  
"Yup, you owe me an extra 5 000 won," Baekhyun says placing their snacks on the counter in the kitchen.  
  
"Uh, ok fine" Chanyeol hands him the extra money "Anything interesting?"  
  
"Actually yeah there was this really weird guy, he was wearing Gucci which is weird around here but didn't buy anything in the store? I'm confused, do you think-" Baekhyun gets cut off.  
  
"I think you're overthinking it, he's probably just some rich kid who was wandering around the city" Chanyeol explains "Also I was asking if you got any interesting snacks, not about interesting guys."  
  
Baekhyun blushes "Don't say it like that, you make it sound like I was into him, I was just intrigued and you know I don't like guys... usually."  
  
"When's the last time you went on a date?" Chanyeol teases.  
  
"Shut up my sad love life is none of your business," Baekhyun said defensively, punching Chanyeol's arm lightly.  
  
"Baekhyunnie you're my best friend, we're practically family, _of course,_  it's my business! We can go clubbing tonight if you want, maybe you'll find a pretty girl."  
  
"Can we just work on the song" Baekhyun huffs opening the bag of shrimp chips.  
  
"Yeah yeah ok," Chanyeol says laughing at Baekhyun's little pout.  
  
They worked on the song till around 10 at which point most of the snacks had been eaten. Chanyeol decided at the end that he'd actually want Baekhyun to do back up vocals for the recording. They often record vocals together because their voices pair very well together.  
  
"Ok well, I'm gonna go take a shower" Chanyeol announces getting up and putting his guitar down.  
  
"Don't use all the hot water I want to take a shower before we go out tonight" Baekhyun yells to Chanyeol who already left the living room.  
  
"Wait does that mean you're saying yes to the clubbing?" Chanyeol yells back.  
  
"Yeah sounds like fun! I haven't gone out in a while anyway."  
  
~=+•+=~  
  
"How do I look?" Chanyeol asks.  
  
"Uhh, I don't know very... Chanyeolish?" Baekhyun says looking at his friend. He's wearing [ black jeans and an oversized purple sweater. ](http://picture-cdn.wheretoget.it/uvi86c-l-610x610-shirt-hoodie-exo+chanyeol-oversized.jpg)  His hair is his usually [ fluffy cherry red hair ](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/e6/5d/64/e65d64d68d78e781e1fe4204fc4c1606.jpg) with no particular styling.  
  
"Is it not good?" Chanyeol asks looking down at himself.  
  
"It's fine, jeans and an oversized sweater is what you wear every day, it's a casual look" Baekhyun explains.  
  
"Should I wear something else? I want to look good."  
  
"Do you have a crush on this girl?" Baekhyun asks cocking an eyebrow.  
  
"I told you, I barely know her, but I want to make a good impression," Chanyeol says.  
  
"Well just go with that, it's just a little lunch date and it's best to be yourself anyways. You're a great person I'm sure she'll like you, who doesn't like happy virus Chanyeol?" Baekhyun reassures him smiling.  
  
"Thanks Baek, okay well I better head out, I'll be back around... 2" Chanyeol informs him.  
  
"Yeah ok see you then."  
  
Chanyeol leaves the apartment a few minutes later after picking a pair of sneakers. Baekhyun does what he always does when he's alone, blasts his music through the apartment while awkwardly scream-singing along and randomly dancing during some songs. Time passes very quickly when he does that. When tt by twice comes on he gets fully into the choreo over-exaggerating his facial expressions. After that, he goes on a twice binge realizing he knows more of the dances than he thought. Halfway through cheer up, he notices Chanyeol walked into their shared bedroom.  
  
"You like twice?" Chanyeol laughs.  
  
"Oh like I haven't heard you sing along to what is love when it's on the radio" Baekhyun returns somewhat embarrassed and blushing furiously after being caught dancing to his guilty pleasure.  
  
"Yeah but I didn't start jumping around doing agyeo!"  
  
"Listen it's fun ok! You weren't meant to be here, which reminds me how was the date?" Baekhyun asks trying to change the subject.  
  
"Good I think I'll remember the sequencing turns out she had a little song for it, genius!" Chanyeol explains.  
  
"Ok still don't know what that is, but I meant her as a person, do you like her?" Baekhyun asks.  
  
"She's fine but I'm not really interested I think we could maybe be friends."  
  
"Oh that's too bad, well we are going out tonight so maybe better luck at the club?" Baekhyun says trying to comfort him.  
  
"If I wear my ripped jeans I'm sure I will," Chanyeol says reaching into his dresser and pulling out the jeans.  
  
"Didn't you wear that last time? Be a little original-"  
  
After hours of picking out outfits,  
  
_"Really? A glitter jacket?" Baekhyun chuckles._  
  
_"What? You told me to change it up!" Chanyeol says defensively._  
  
_"I never said add sparkles, why do you even have that?"_  
  
_"I think the sparkles bring out my eyes," Chanyeol says blinking rapidly._  
  
_Baekhyun shakes his head disapprovingly._  
  
comparing themselves to idols,  
  
_"What do you mean? I totally look like Taehyung Dark & Wild era!" Baekhyun exclaims. _  
  
_"In your dreams maybe" Chanyeol scoffs._  
  
_"I've got the brown hair, bangs, leather pants, white shirt, you have to admit with eyeliner I'd look a lot like him!"_  
  
_"Only in really dark lighting or maybe if you squint_ really _hard," Chanyeol says squinting for effect._  
  
watching many many danger live performances and then jamming out to a lot of songs. After getting tired out, they take a food break and finally get back to outfit choosing. At 8 pm they finally pick out an outfit and Baekhyun does his and a hesitant Chanyeol's eyeliner.  
  
"Do you think we're ready for the ball yet?" Baekhyun asks trying to curtsey pulling on his shirt.  
  
[ Baekhyun ](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/21/3f/14/213f14588d60f46b31ca5600c512adfd.jpg) is wearing a loose black silk button-up and the same leather pants as earlier. [ Chanyeol ](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C8kMHNwXYAArdhs.jpg) chose a leather jacket, black t-shirt and dark grey jeans.  
  
"Nah, let's spend another 6 hours picking outfits like 12-year-old girls" Chanyeol teases.  
  
"Most of that was eating and you _know_ it," Baekhyun says rubbing his full stomach "Let's get going!"  
  
They walk down to the bus stop since neither of the students can afford a car. After a little wait, they get on the bus and end up downtown where their favourite clubs are.  
  
"Which do you want to go to tonight?" Chanyeol asks.  
  
"You invited me, the choice is yours," Baekhyun says with a big smile, knowing Chanyeol doesn't really like making decisions.  
  
They end up just walking to the nearest one, which happened to be a new one called [ Union ](https://media.blogto.com/uploads/2018/01/26/20121117-2048-uniunnightclub1.jpg?cmd=resize&quality=70&w=1400&height=2500) . They walked in and got a little overwhelmed by all the flashing dark blue LED lights hanging from the ceiling. The club had a really interesting look with 14-ft bronze metal arches, old-timey chandeliers and wood accents, and a lot of ultra-modern technology. They quickly blended into the crowd and started dancing.  
  
Partway through the night, Baekhyun makes his way to the bar and orders a beer. While he drank, he saw a girl that caught his attention, a girl with long straight brown hair and a simple but elegant white dress.  
  
"E-excuse me" Baekhyun making eye contact with the girl hoping to get her attention. She smiles softly at him.  
  
"Wanna go dance?" She asks.  
  
They dance together for a while. There's no doubt in Baekhyun's mind, this girl is truly beautiful. Her lips are an amazing soft pink that become a cute rectangle shape when she laughs, she has an adorable little freckle on her nose and she just gives the most wonderful vibe of happiness. However, Baekhyun can't shake the feeling that there's something unsettlingly familiar about this girl.  
  
"What's your name?" she says in his ear since the music is so loud.  
  
"Baekhyun" he responds by sending her a warm smile.  
  
"Really? that's crazy, my name is Baekhee" she says laughing.  
  
After the song ends, Baekhyun makes his way back to Chanyeol.  
  
"I saw you found a girl," Chanyeol says giggling to himself.  
  
"Yeah she's nice and really pretty but I don't know I kinda felt weird" Baekhyun says remembering the odd feeling.  
  
"Maybe because she's you?" Chanyeol says and immediately breaks out laughing.  
  
"What? Are you drunk? Baekhee isn't-"  
  
"Baekhee?!?" Chanyeol interrupts and then falls to the floor laughing "Baekhyun she's literally you as a girl you guys look exactly the same, except she's more, you know feminine, if I didn't know your family I would have sworn she was your twin sister!"  
  
"I-" Baekhyun starts but then realizes Chanyeol is right, that was the weird feeling, that freckle should have tipped him off he sees it every day in the mirror. "Well I'm really hot as a girl."  
  
Chanyeol nods in agreement, it was undeniably true. Chanyeol would have asked the girl out if it weren't for the fact he would be essentially dating his best friend.  
  
"Wait wait wait, Chanyeol that guy over by the bar, do you see who I'm talking about?" Baekhyun says while vigorously pointing at a man in a suit sipping on a fruity looking drink.  
  
"It's rude to point," Chanyeol says trying to calm his friend "but yeah I see him."  
  
"He's the guy I saw at the corner store! You know the weird one!" Baekhyun says freaking out slightly, thinking he was being stalked.  
  
"He doesn't seem all that weird, he just looks like a normal guy," Chanyeol says not understanding his friend's reaction.  
  
"I think he's following me, do you think he's going to kill me?? Oh god no I'm too young to die, Chanyeol you're tall, save me!" Baekhyun says clinging to his friend for dear life.  
  
"Baekhyun he's not going to kill you, how much did you have to drink? You're acting super paranoid" Chanyeol says looking down at his terrified friend.  
  
"I didn't have that much to drink, just a beer, and I have reason to be paranoid he's following me!" Baekhyun says pouting but not letting his death grip on his friend loosen at all.  
  
"Yeah ok sure, _lightweight_ " Chanyeol whispers the last part under his breath "here how about we go talk to him, I'll convince him not to kill you."  
  
"No, no, no" Baekhyun lets go of his friend as Chanyeol starts walking towards the man. He fidgets a bit before deciding he'd rather follow his friend than being left alone.  
  
"Hi, what's your name?" Chanyeol says to the man sending him a blinding smile.  
  
"Zitao, but most people just call me Tao" the man- Tao said "Haven't I seen you before?" he said looking at Baekhyun.  
  
"That's actually why we're here, my friend here thinks you're following him," Chanyeol says very bluntly.  
  
"Chanyeol!" Baekhyun screams hitting Chanyeol on the arm while blushing furiously "I just- I mean I just saw you earlier today and now so uh..."  
  
"That's ok, I get it, but no I haven't been following you Baekhyun," Tao says smiling.  
  
"See Baek, it was a misunder- wait" Chanyeol pauses to look back at Tao "How did you know his name?"  
  
"You-" Tao clears his throat, "you said it earlier."  
  
"No, I didn't," Chanyeol says very sternly.  
  
"Yeah, you did how else would I know?" Tao chuckles.  
  
"Ch-Chanyeol I told you he's going to kill me heeelp" Baekhyun says a little louder than he meant while resuming his death grip on Chanyeol.  
  
"Zitao I strongly suggest you tell us how you know his name" Chanyeol falsely threatens, even if his height and broad shoulders make him look intimidating he's really just a puppy.  
  
"Alright, fine have it your way you might want to take a seat," Tao says gesturing at the other bar stools. Tao sees no reason to prolong his introduction, he's been caught and he has to admit it eventually. "I'm actually a time traveller from the year 2132 and the government has reason to believe both of you have powers that will help us prevent the tragedy that happened in my time"


	2. The Prince, the Bodyguard and the Time Traveler

AN:

In case anyone is wondering [ this ](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/bc/d4/37/bcd4378701d985099a3e0be8b45cbc47.jpg) is what Jongdae wears and [ this ](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/ce/08/55/ce08556d01617cad975913a405bffa4e.jpg) is what Minseok wears.  
The colours would change but the outfit is generally of that style for both roles.

Also for clarification of the roles

Jongdae is a Great Prince (or Daegun), meaning he is not the heir to the throne but is the son of the King and Queen (not one of the King’s concubines), he would be called Daegam (like your highness but it’s for specific royalty including the Daegun)

Minseok is his bodyguard so his only job is to protect Jongdae when he’s awake (he has night guards as well but they aren’t really his personal guards)

 

   
_25th of August, 1453, Hanseong (Seoul), Joseon_  
  
"Minseok, would you help me read this?" Jongdae asks his bodyguard. Truthfully, Jongdae doesn't need any help reading, since he is the Daegun (Great Prince) and is fully able to read both hanja and the more recently developed hangul. But he knows his bodyguard/best friend loves literature, so he lets Minseok read his documents. His friend is the best, sweetest person Jongdae has ever met and he always tries to return Minseok's kindness.  
  
"It appears to be a petition to the king about the taxes on crops, why do you have it?" Minseok asks a small smile spreading across his face from the prince's kind gesture.  
  
"Father wanted me to read over them, learn some of the king's duties even though my brother is the heir," Jongdae says casually "He also wants me to tell him how I would deal with these petitions."  
  
"How would you deal with them?" Minseok asks curiously. Even though Minseok is not normally supposed to be so casual with the prince, in private they often talk to each other as equals, though they clearly are from very different classes.  
  
"Eh, I don't know, I'd probably hear the points the advisors had and decide after that, this is exactly why I don't want to be king, so much pressure" Jongdae says scrunching his face, he's never wanted to have the responsibilities of a kingdom and is quite happy to be born second.  
  
The boys turn their heads to the door of Jongdae's room when they hear it starting to open. Minseok immediately put himself in front of Jongdae. It was most probably a worker but as a bodyguard, he always has to be ready to defend the Prince's life. Minseok would gladly give up his life to save the Prince, not only because it would be an honour but also because he wouldn't be able to live knowing he had failed his best friend.    
  
"Excuse me, Daegam, the king has requested your presence" a small voice calls from behind the door.  
  
"Uh, why? He already talked to me about responsibilities today" Jongdae knows he's not supposed to whine, it's undignified, but he still does it when he knows he can't be caught.  
  
"Alright, come on Daegam, please allow me to escort you" Minseok switches back to his formal speech since he knows others can hear him. Minseok often wishes him and Jongdae could just be friends and not need to drop all friendliness in public, sometimes he thinks Jongdae feels the same way.  
  
They made their way to the king's room in the palace. To both of their surprise, there is more than just the king, queen and their personal guards. There is also a very strange looking man with extremely odd but simple white clothing being held by four guards. The man is also inhumanly tall, Jongdae and Minseok are both the tallest in the palace, they are 10 cm taller than average but this man is over 10 cm taller than they are.  
  
"Jongdae, I asked you here because I have a proposition," the king says giving his youngest son a soft smile.  
  
"What is it, father? and who is this man?" Jongdae asks his father.  
  
"Well, my proposition is that instead of reading all the old petitions and finding solutions, you could decide what we will do with him," the king says pointing at the odd man.  
  
"I accept." Jongdae says mentally thanking the gods because there was really a lot of petitions to read.  
  
The king nods towards the four guards and they start moving the man towards the prison. Jongdae and Minseok start walking back towards Jongdae's room. Once they are away from earshot, Minseok turns to the prince.  
  
"Are we just going to wait for one of the advisors to talk to you?" Minseok asks.  
  
"I would assume so, though I would really like to talk to the man myself, after sunset we will go find his cell and talk to him," Jongdae says very matter of factly.  
  
"Are you sure that's a good idea? What if we get caught?" Minseok asks a little worried.  
  
"Relax, how many times have we snuck out before? Plus my parents aren't strict about my actions as much since I won't be king anyways, I only have one personal guard I mean how much do they really care about my safety" Jongdae laughs.  
  
"You begged them not to give you a second guard and they are still trying to convince you to need another one, and I do have to agree with the king and queen, it's not a wise decision" Minseok reminds him.  
  
"Shush is that any way to speak to your _Daegun_ " Jongdae says jokingly exaggerating the last word "I don't want another guard because I like you, plus you are stronger than three guards put together" he hugs Minseok's arm to show affection. Minseok smiles widely back at his friend.  
  
~=+•+=~  
  
  
After the advisor explained how they found the man just wandering aimlessly in the garden, Minseok and Jongdae became very curious. Apparently, the tall man somehow entered the garden without any of the guards noticing. They wait in Jongdae’s room for a long time before the sun finally disappears from the sky.  
  
"Minseok, I think we should head to the prison it's dark now," Jongdae says playfully pushing on his somewhat sleepy friend.  
  
"Ok let's head out" Minseok responds a little groggy.  
  
They walk into the prison era and Jongdae tells the guards he is on order from his father to talk to the prisoner. The guards hardly believe him but let him through anyways not wanting to upset the prince. They walk up to the only cell with a person in it.  
  
"Hello, as you probably know I am Daegun Jongdae," Jongdae says in a friendly tone "and this is my personal guard Minseok."  
  
"We would like to ask you some questions," Minseok says.  
  
"Yes, first what is your name?" Jongdae asks.  
  
"My name is Ta Oh," Tao says trying to mimic their old Korean accent.  
  
"You speak very weirdly, I have never heard of the family Ta and your clothes are weird as well, where are you from?" Jongdae asks becoming more and more curious.  
  
"The north," Tao says not wanting to reveal too much or scare the Prince, he would rather avoid being executed.  
  
"That's very vague... how did you get into the garden?" Minseok asks.  
  
"I honestly did not mean to be there, I made some wrong turns" Tao lies, he can't explain that that's just where he landed when he travelled to this time.  
  
"How would the guards not have noticed, you are far too tall to accidentally get passed them," Jongdae comments not believing Tao's story for a second.  
  
"May I ask you two a question?" Tao asks ignoring Jongdae's previous comment.  
  
"You seem very bold for a prisoner, lucky for you I am not one to be strict with social order, okay ask your question" Jongdae just really wants to know what the question is.  
  
"Have you ever noticed the weather change when you get upset?" Tao asks carefully studying both of their faces. Jongdae didn't hide his surprise very well, it was clear he knew exactly what Tao was talking about. Minseok kept much more of a poker face but Tao still thought he saw a hint of surprise in his eyes.  
  
"What do you mean?" Minseok asks in a very stern voice.

 

"I don't know, like it getting colder, raining or thunderstorms?" Both Jongdae and Minseok were visibly freaked out no matter how much they were trying to hide it. "I guess I was right, don't worry, I won't tell anyone."  
  
"I- I don't know what you are talking about" Minseok lies very badly.  
  
"I do" Jongdae mutters.  
  
"What?" Minseok turns to Jongdae with wide eyes "You do? How long have you known?"  
  
"Probably since I was 10. I got really mad at my parents for a week, they kept telling me how I would need to study to become king, saying anything could happen to my brother. Every time I had a burst of outrage the sky would become gray and there would be these terrible storms with so much lightning" Jongdae starts shaking, he has never told anyone about his power, not even Minseok.  
  
"W-wait you have powers?" Minseok puts a hand on his friend's shoulder to comfort him "I thought" Minseok pauses deciding he has no reason to hide his secret  "I thought you knew about my powers."  
  
" _Your_ powers?" Jongdae asks feeling a little less scared knowing his friend wasn't afraid of him.  
  
"I have the power of frost," Minseok says holding up his hand and creating a small ice crystal. "But how did you know," Minseok asks narrowing his eyes at Tao.  
  
Tao pauses thinking through his answer very carefully, his fate is in the prince's hands. Since he recently time travelled hundreds of years in the past he is unable to travel back, he'll probably need a few days to ‘recharge’. If he says the wrong thing and the prince sentences him to death there's likely no way he'll be able to escape.  
  
"I too have a power," Tao says "I have the power of time"  
  
"Is that why you are dressed like that and speak with an accent, you are from a different time?" Minseok asks.  
  
"Yes, you caught on quickly," Tao says a little surprised, he didn't really expect Minseok to be so clever since he is just a guard.  
  
"We will be leaving now," Jongdae says turning away from the cell.  
  
"Jong-" Minseok stops himself remembering the guards are near and could hear him if he shouts. He runs to catch up with his friend "Why are we leaving?"  
  
"I do not know if we can trust him, we've already revealed too much to this man." Jongdae says calmly but Minseok can hear the fear in his voice, "I will need to think about this a lot more before talking to him, this was a foolish decision"  
  
Minseok knows it's better not to speak to the prince before he calms down. Minseok also knows Jongdae will want to let out his feelings later, but for now, he is much too agitated. On their walk back gray clouds start forming in the sky and thunder can be heard. When they arrive back in Jongdae's room Minseok decides to speak up.  
  
"Are you ok?" Minseok asks sitting on the bed beside Jongdae.  
  
"I am just a little shaken," Jongdae says staring at the ground "I hardly like acknowledging my power, speaking about it out loud... it really scared me. I thought that it was a secret I would take to the grave. I wanted to tell you but..." Jongdae pauses finally looking back up at his friend "I'm sorry" he looks back down at the ground.  
  
"You don't have to apologize to me, it's ok I understand" Minseok puts a hand on Jongdae's arm trying to reassure him.  
  
"I didn't want to tell you because I thought you'd think I was a monster, I was so afraid of losing you-" Jongdae says wiping the tears that start forming.  
  
"I would never think that Jongdae you would have to do something truly terrible for me to stop being your friend, you just have a power, how could I think that?" Minseok's heart broke a little seeing his friend like this, he only wishes he had known sooner so he could have comforted him.  
  
"You remember those storms the lightning destroyed houses, so many people lost their crops and..." Jongdae lets his tears run down his face "it was all my fault."  
  
"It wasn't your fault you didn't do it on purpose," Minseok says in a very soothing tone.  
  
"I tried telling myself that, honestly I've been trying to convince myself I didn't start the storms in the first place, but tonight... I was forced to face the truth, my power is real and I started the storms" Jongdae says leaning on his friend's shoulder. Minseok wraps his arms around his friend and pulls him in for a hug, they stay like that till Jongdae's tears stop running.  
  
"I didn't tell you about my power either," Minseok says trying to distract Jongdae's thoughts "I didn't want to burden you with it."  
  
"You don't seem to give me enough credit, I may only be a useless prince but I can take a little responsibility. I would like to do more for you as a friend, I feel like you do so much for me but I do nothing for you" Jongdae says feeling a lot better after the hug.  
  
"Really? But you do so much for me, you personally asked the king and queen to give me a better bedroom, you always insist that I must eat the same food as you so "you won't be lonely", you always buy-" Minseok says but is quickly interrupted by Jongdae.  
  
"That is all easy, my parents will do a lot to make sure I'm happy so it is not difficult to have them agree to those things. What you do isn't something you can easily buy or beg for, you are attentive and always know what to say to comfort me or make me laugh. You listen to all my ramblings and remember everything. I am able to trust you with so much. You are a better friend than I am but I would like to be better" Jongdae says honestly "Please allow me to help you with your fears and troubles."  
  
"You seem to be asking me to treat you as an equal" Minseok says smiling lightly.  
  
"I am," Jongdae says very seriously. Minseok cannot help but smile, Jongdae smiles back. "Well we should get some rest, tomorrow we can talk about what we will do with Ta Oh."  
  
"Ok," Minseok says getting off the bed to go to his own room.  
  
~=+•+=~  
  
"Have you made a decision about Ta Oh?" the king asks his son.  
  
"I have" Jongdae pauses "Since he is very clearly from a strange land, I thought we should use this opportunity to gain Ta Oh's trust and learn about the threat his people pose to our kingdom."  
  
The king leans back in his chair and nods slowly "I think it would be a wise choice, I'll have the Hall of the Worthy talk to him later today."  
  
"Father, with all due respect, I was hoping I could be the one to talk to Ta Oh," Jongdae says praying to the gods his father will agree because he'd rather not sneak around to speak to Ta Oh.

  
During the night he ended up staying up very late after Minseok left, his thoughts kept swimming. He mostly thought about his powers, Minseok's powers and how Ta Oh said he had time powers. He couldn't stand having so many questions after their short discussion. He needed answers and the only person who had them was Ta Oh.  
  
The king sighs "One of these days I'm going to learn how to say no to you" Jongdae smiles widely and his father smiles softly back while chuckling lightly.  
  
"Thank you," Jongdae says while bowing. "Come Minseok, I will go question Ta Oh now."  
  
They walk over to the prison. They don't speak to each other much since neither of them had much to talk about. They already had a very long conversation in the morning about Ta Oh and how they would interrogate him.  
  
"I will be requesting you leave me and the prisoner alone," Jongdae says firmly to the guards around Ta Oh's cell.  
  
"We can't leave him unattended, the king ordered him to be watched by guards every day and night," one of the guards says sounding unsure.  
  
"Minseok is a guard and he will stay here," Jongdae says and the guards start to look at each other before eventually leaving.  
  
"Who are you really and where are you from?" Jongdae finally voices some of the questions that have been taking over his thoughts.  
  
"My name is Huang Zitao, you can still call me Tao though, I am from very far into the future, almost 700 years from now" Tao answers honestly.  
  
"That's- That is a _very_ long time" Jongdae pauses trying to wrap his head around the concept, he gets a bit tripped up by what Tao said. Instead of questioning Tao the way he and Minseok planned he ends up asking "Do people still remember me?"  
  
"There are some, I wouldn't say it's a lot, but you will not be forgotten," Tao says trying to comfort the clearly shaken prince.  
  
"Why are you here?" Jongdae goes back to the planned questions, trying to regain his composure.  
  
"I actually came to confirm whether you and Minseok had powers, we had suspicions because of the very unnatural weather of this time and a few cases of oddly frozen ponds that were recorded, but we weren't completely sure" Tao answers.  
  
"How did you know it was me and Jongdae? Couldn't it have been anyone at the palace?" Minseok adds his own question. Tao falls silent.  
  
"I was hoping I wouldn't have to bring this up" Tao pauses looking down "In roughly a few weeks, both of you were declared dead, we have no record of how, after that, the weird weather stopped immediately"  
  
"Who is ‘we’?" Jongdae asks ignoring what Tao said.  
  
"Are you not concerned with the part where he says we die in a few weeks?" Minseok asks a little worried about his friend.  
  
"No, it's been 700 years, I'm sure it's just an error" Jongdae answers Minseok in a very casual tone while shrugging his shoulders.  
  
"I actually may have the explanation of how it happens" Tao interrupts "Both of you may have just travelled to a different time."  
  
"We aren't the ones with time powers so how would that happen? Wait no- answer my question about the ‘we’ you keep mentioning first" Jongdae says sounding a bit like a kid who can't pick a present to open.  
  
"The ‘we’ I'm talking about is a group set up to find those who have powers," Tao says, it wasn't quite a lie but it certainly wasn't the whole truth.  
  
"Ok... now that time travel thing" Jongdae says nodding.  
  
"Right, so I am actually able to travel with others through time" Tao explains "I'm guessing you two were declared dead because you were missing, I think you left this time and went to the year 2017."  
  
"2017? What is the year 2017?" Minseok speaks up.  
  
"Oh right sorry you don't use that calendar yet, it's around 550 years in the future" Tao explains.  
  
"Why that year? Why not go back to your time?" Jongdae asks.  
  
"I don't think I should explain that yet, I am still unable to travel for another few days alone and probably won't be able to travel with you two for another week or so, time travel is very draining for me, I'm sure you have found that with your powers as well" Tao says "Anyways, I think it would be best if I let you two think things over for a while before telling you more."  
  
"Are you implying we would travel with you?" Minseok asks cautiously.  
  
"I thought that was clear" Tao says softly "The decision is ultimately yours, I won't force either of you."  
  
"Why would we do that, why would we leave our home?" Jongdae asks.  
  
"You and your powers would be a great help in the future but I would prefer not to tell you the situation till you have left this era," Tao says trying to deflect the question he doesn't want to answer till later. He doesn't want to overcomplicate their lives if they do choose to stay.  
  
"We will think it over," Jongdae says while leaving.  
  
For the next 8 days, Minseok and Jongdae spend their time reporting the made-up information about Tao's country and thinking over the conversation they had. Initially, they both thought the idea of leaving was completely ridiculous, they could never leave their home, family and life. After a few days of thought, they weren't as strongly against it, but it wasn't till the 8th day when they really made up their minds.  
  
"Have you made a decision?" Minseok asks the prince since they were alone in Jongdae's room.  
  
"Not quite but I think I might choose to leave" Jongdae responds, Minseok's eyes widen.  
  
"Really? I thought you'd want to stay here and be the Daegun, you have a great life" Minseok points out.  
  
"I do love it here, I love my family and the palace, but I can't shake the feeling that I was meant to leave" Jongdae starts "I've always felt different, always strayed from the norms, like treating you like an equal, it felt... so normal? No one else feels that way, they are so stressed about following all the rules, about wanting what they should want, power and family, but not me. I don't know it's like I'm already a man out of time like it's my _fate_ to leave."  
  
"I can see what you mean, I feel that way sometimes too, but don't you think that everyone might? That we all hide our fears of not conforming?" Minseok questions.  
  
"I guess... but who wouldn't want to be a king? Have all the power? I give up all the power I have... I've never wanted unquestioned respect. I just want to trust, to be trusted and to feel a proper balance in my relationships with others. I want to be called out when I make bad decisions. I don't think anyone else would agree." Jongdae pauses "I don't know, it might not be a good reason but I just have the strongest feeling that I am meant to go to the future... what made you think of leaving?"  
  
"It was also fate, I feel like the coincidence of Tao showing up right before we will be declared dead is too improbable. That both of us will just be gone, but of no disease or accident, no cause of death whatsoever. It can't be a coincidence, it wouldn't make sense..." Minseok explains.  
  
"There could be a lot of explanations for that and we aren't sure we will die, it could have been misunderstood. The timing is very suspicious though" Jongdae adds.  
  
"Do you think we should go?" Minseok asks.  
  
"If we are truly meant to help the world in the future... I think it would be selfish to stay here. Honestly, I will not do anything for this kingdom. My family will be saddened but I am sure they will recover. I know Tao was very vague, but I think what he is saying is true, he seems to know a lot about us, things he could not have known, so it wouldn't be unreasonable to think the rest of what he says is also true." Jongdae says going to sit on his bed.  
  
"I think we can trust him, I think he is being honest when he says we will help" Minseok pauses "But what if we're wrong? What if he _is_ evil?"  
  
"I am sure we can fight against him if that's true, we can still help the future, even if that means taking down Tao and his group" Jongdae argues "I'm sure it won't come to that though, he could have lied but he didn't, he has proven himself to be an honest and trustworthy person, he didn't tell anyone about our powers."  
  
"You make a great point" Minseok agrees "So... that's it? We're travelling with him to the future?"  
  
Jongdae nods slowly. He gets up and gets a paintbrush, ink, and paper. He sits on the floor and dips his brush into the ink. He turns to his friend, Minseok looks confused before understanding what Jongdae is doing, he is writing a letter to his family for when they leave.  
  
"Would you like to help me write this" Jongdae asks with a soft smile, his heart aching from the idea of leaving.  
  
"Sure, would you mind if I write to my family as well? I don't know if they'll get the letter but I want to try" Minseok says sitting beside him.  
  
"You should also go see them one last time before leaving, it's only a day's travel, I'm sure you can see them before it's time to leave," Jongdae says putting his hand on his friend's shoulder.  
  
"Really? You'd give me time off? You'd do that for me?" Minseok asks touched.  
  
"Of course, if my parents get mad I won't suffer for long anyway," Jongdae says and hugs his friend. They hug for a while before Minseok reminds them the ink will get dry, then they start to write the letter.


	3. Facing the Truth

_28th of April 2018, Daegu, South Korea_   
  
"I'm actually a time traveller from the year 2132 and the government has reason to believe both of you have powers that will help us prevent the tragedy that happened in my time." Tao says sternly “We should take the rest of this conversation outside.”

 

Chanyeol and Baekhyun nod in agreement and walk towards the exit, it is difficult to have a serious conversation when “Baby Don’t Stop” is blasting through the speakers. When they walk into the chill midnight air Chanyeol speaks up.   


“Listen if you were following Baekhyun because you admire or like him or something it’s fine, no need to lie.” Chanyeol says looking at Baekhyun silently asking for approval, Baekhyun nods in response “You also might want to think of something more believable, time traveller really?”

 

“And powers?” Baekhyun adds scoffing.

 

“I don’t expect you to believe me yet, but I can prove it,” Tao says seriously.

 

“Go on,” Baekhyun says amused.

 

“You’re really considering this?” Chanyeol asks his friend, Baekhyun shrugs.

 

“There’s a baseball game in a few days, Bears vs. Lions, the Bears win 11-4” Tao says.

 

“That’s not hard to predict, I love Daegu but their team sucks” Chanyeol says unimpressed.

 

“Ok... how about the stock market” Tao pauses trying to remember the facts he memorized “Samsung goes down by 1.3% tomorrow and Google goes up by 2.19%.”

 

“Don’t you have some kind of tech or something from the future?” Baekhyun asks.

 

“Not right now... I’m not supposed to bring anything unless it’s absolutely necessary” Tao says a little embarrassed, he really thought they’d believe him like the others did. He just feels like they are laughing at him.

 

“Ok yeah right sure... We should get going it’s getting late” Chanyeol says starting to slowly walk to the bus stop “Oh and if all of that is true then maybe we’ll believe you.”

 

“Wait-” Tao says catching up to the students “Here’s my number call me after you watch the match, we can meet up to talk.”

 

Chanyeol takes the small piece of paper with Tao’s number and smiles at him politely. Baekhyun and Chanyeol walk to the bus and check the schedule, it will be about a 10-minute wait.

 

“Do you think he’s telling the truth?” Baekhyun asks looking up at Chanyeol.

 

“I don’t know... seems crazy but if he’s right about all that, maybe it would be hard to predict those exact numbers” Chanyeol shrugs “We also might want to look at getting a new apartment though, just in case.”

 

“Do you really think he’s that much of a threat?” Baekhyun asks a little shocked.

 

“No not really, but we’ve wanted to move for a while anyway, have a real dining table, maybe even two bedrooms” Chanyeol pauses to revel in the idea “plus having someone follow you is kinda creepy” Baekhyun nods in agreement.

 

~=+•+=~

 

_28th of April 2018, Angang-Eup (an hour east of Daegu), South Korea_

 

“Where did Tao and Jongdae say they went?” Junmyeon asks, grabbing some water from the fridge and pouring it into his glass.

 

“Jongdae said he was ‘checking out the town’ whatever that means” Minseok says putting down his book and looking up at Junmyeon “Tao said he went out to recruit some more people.”

 

“Already? He just transported me here last week” Junmyeon says a bit confused “Wouldn’t his powers need more time to recharge or whatever.”

 

“Mmmm I don’t think so... you are just from 50 years in the future” Minseok says with a thoughtful face “But the guys he’s recruiting are actually from this time or at least that’s what I understood... his accent is so weird.”

 

“Well his first language is Mandarin and he learned Korean in the future so his accent is bound to be different” Junmyeon defends his new friend Tao.

 

“I get that but it is hard to understand, he always uses words I don’t know like ‘cloobe’, what is that?” Minseok says trying his best to repeat what Tao said earlier that night “I’ve been in this time for 6 months but I’m still struggling with the language and it’s my own language!”

 

“I think you mean club, it’s a place where people party, dance and drink” Junmyeon instructs “I get what you mean though, living here is weird, I’m still not used to speaking Korean all day.”

 

“You never did really explain where you were from, other than you were from the future, do they stop speaking Korean in 50 years?” Minseok says intrigued.

 

“No no nothing like that, it’s just that my family moved from Korea when I was 13” Junmyeon explains “I’m- I _was_ living in France for the past 9 years, so I spoke French most of the time except with my family.”   


“I don’t think I know France, is it in America?” Minseok asks.

 

“It’s actually in Europe” Junmyeon says taking a sip of water “I lived on the coast, it was great I love the ocean, being close to the water always makes me feel calmer. Even before I found out about my power I loved it.”

 

“We can always go to the beach” Minseok smiles at Junmyeon “Tao took us there once, it’s just an hour bus ride away. I just got my licence though so I could drive you!”

 

“I’d like that a lot” Junmyeon returns the smile.

 

“Hello! I have returned!” Jongdae announces loud enough that Minseok and Junmyeon can hear him from the kitchen even though they were two rooms over.

 

Tao had a very large house, probably since his mission was to recruit as many people as possible. The house had 9 rooms and 12 beds, one in the 6 smaller rooms and two in the three larger ones.

 

“Is he always this obnoxious?” Junmyeon asks Minseok.

 

“You think this is bad try working for him” Minseok chuckles “He’s actually not that bad though, I think he just misses being a prince.”

 

“Are you guys ready?” Jongdae says walking into the room, he runs his fingers through his recently dyed hair “What do you think?”

 

“Y-your hair” Minseok says a little shocked, he’s seen dyed hair before but never on someone he knew... it was very weird to see such a big change in his friend’s appearance “it’s [ gold ](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/2a/0b/1a/2a0b1ad873973c6a2e55ceae11a545aa--goals-masters.jpg)!”

 

“Yeah! Isn’t it cool? I used some of the money Tao gave us and got it dyed at this really nice hairdressers” Jongdae says smiling widely, he really loves his new hair.

 

“I think the colour really suits you!” Junmyeon chimes in.

 

“Thanks Junmyeon!” Jongdae says enthusiastically sending him his signature eye smile. “What about you Minseok, what do you think?”

 

“It’s very different” Minseok pauses to examine his friend’s hair more closely “but I think I like it too.”

 

“What’s for dinner I’m starving!” Jongdae says leaning on the counter.

 

“Oh you didn’t eat when you were out?” Junmyeon asks, Jongdae shakes his head. “We already ate, it’s 9:30 pm, but I can heat up some leftovers if you want”

 

“That would be great thanks.”

 

“So how did you find a hairdresser open so late?” Junmyeon asks pulling out a microwave safe container of noodles and putting in the microwave.

 

“Is that late? I didn’t know... I just found one that was open, I went at like 5:30” Jongdae explains “Did you know it took that long to get your hair colour changed? I thought they just put some sort of machine on your head but that wasn’t it at all.”

 

“Wait then how do they do it?” Minseok asks confused, he also thought it was some sort of machine or colour dip.

 

“Well first they wash your hair, then they add this white foam thing, they called it bleach, with a brush thing and they have to paint every single part of your hair which I thought was the longest part but it’s really not! You have to wait forever with that bleach stuff in your hair and it gets really warm? It’s so weird. Then finally they wash it out and your hair is like that yellow colour, what’s it called? Blond! Right so then it’s blond and then they add the colour with the same brush and painting technique. You wait a long time with that, another wash and then they cut my hair, dried and styled it. At least they have those magazines to read” Jongdae explained, by which time his noodles were ready.

 

“Hearing you two talk about these things is always amusing” Junmyeon chuckles handing the container and chopsticks to Jongdae.

 

“When have I said amusing things?” Minseok asks.

 

“When Tao gave you your first smartphone and you told him it was broken because the screen was black” Junmyeon says giggling a bit.

 

“How was I supposed to know it had buttons on the side, I only see people use the screen” Minseok pouts at his own ignorance, he wishes he could be as informed as he was in his own time. He learns so many new things every day but it’s still not enough.

 

“I’m not laughing at you, it’s not your fault” Junmyeon clarifies “I just find it cute is all.”

 

“Did I miss the drama when I was gone?” Jongdae interrupts with a face full of noodles.

 

“Jongdae can you wait till after you’re done eating to talk?” Junmyeon asks a little disgusted.

  
“Oh sorry” Jongdae responds after finishing the dish. “I thought people ate noodles like this.”

 

“I think they do here, but I am not used to it” Junmyeon says “I’ll try to adjust too.”

 

“What drama are you talking about?” Minseok asks bringing up Jongdae’s original question.

 

“Drama? Oh! Right, the one with the Joseon alien!” Jongdae says trying to remember the name “My love from another star!”

 

“Oh yeah you did miss it but I think Tao recorded it” Minseok says turning to Junmyeon “Could you help us figure out how to watch it?”

 

“Uhh I can try but I’m not used to this old tech.”

 

The boys make their way over to the living room and plop down on the couch. The living room was huge but appropriately sized for the house. It had a huge L shaped couch and two loveseats, a beautiful glass coffee table with dark wood legs and an 85 inch 4k TV on the wall facing the couch.

 

Junmyeon fiddle around with the remote complaining about all the buttons and lack of voice control saying that it’s basic tech and they should at least have that. Meanwhile, Minseok and Jongdae are still calling the remote and TV magic, they are well aware it isn’t, but they still don’t really understand how it works so calling it magic is just simpler.

 

“Ok so I think I found the recordings, this really wasn’t designed with user-friendliness in mind” Junmyeon says while pressing play, the show starts and they all stay quiet.

 

 _My love from another star_ is Jongdae and Minseok’s favourite drama, it incorporates all their favourite aspects of dramas. The drama is about an alien with powers who crashes in the Joseon era but the main setting of the drama is the present day. Minseok loves Joseon dramas, it reminds him of home, he also loves laughing at the mistakes. Jongdae loves dramas with superpowers (eg. Strong Women, Jongdae’s second favourite). Both of them really love rom-coms so it’s really the perfect show.

 

Tao often encourages them to watch dramas so they can learn more about the 2018 Korean culture, though dramas are an exaggeration they still learned a lot. For example, how skinship was rather common between close friends. After learning that, they quickly learned they also enjoyed cuddling together while watching shows.

 

Nearing the end of the episode Jongdae [ falls asleep ](http://i.imgur.com/blLLQd2.gif) grabbing on to the pillow Minseok was holding on to and leaning his head on Minseok’s shoulder. Minseok only notices when he goes to tell Jongdae how the [main character](http://asianwiki.com/images/2/25/You_Who_Came_From_The_Stars-016.jpg)looked like he could be his brother but got no response.

 

“Do you mind pausing it? Seems the little Prince fell asleep” Minseok says softly to Junmyeon who was sitting close by “I’ll carry him to our room.”

 

Minseok and Jongdae took one of the larger bedrooms with a great view of a beautiful forest. Tao insisted they take that room since he was hoping strangers wouldn’t have to room together, Minseok and Jongdae had no issue with sharing a room and gladly obliged.

 

“Isn’t he a bit heavy? I can help if you want” Junmyeon offers while turning off the TV. Minseok shakes his head.

 

“No need, I’m stronger than I look” Minseok says smiling proudly. “I was actually the strongest out of all the guards.”

 

He picks up his sleeping friend, Jongdae nuzzles into the hold like a child. Junmyeon watches Minseok carry Jongdae up the stairs into their room.

 

Junmyeon decides to stay up a little later and turns the TV back on. He scrolls through the DVR where he finds one of his favourite old French movies he recorded, La Boum. He loves really old classics (though in 2018 it was only 38 years old) and they remind him of home.

 

It has not been long since he left but he is already missing his home in France. Of course, he misses his friends and family terribly but he also misses the smaller things in his life. He misses the cute cabin he lived in, it was very small and cramped but he loved it all the same. He misses the bakery down the street, he used to always get up early on Sunday mornings to get a fresh pain au chocolat as a treat. He debated trying to find a bakery that sold them in Korea but he ultimately decided it wouldn’t be the same and would just make him miss his bakery even more.

 

At least he could still watch his old movies.

 

Halfway through the movie Junmyeon hears keys unlocking the front door, quickly followed by the door opening and a very loud sigh. Junmyeon pauses his movie and goes to greet Tao.

 

“How’d it go with the club people?” He asks to start up a conversation. Tao shrugs.

 

“I don’t know, they didn’t really believe me but I told them about the baseball game and some stocks so I think they’ll come around” Tao says disappointed “I don’t think they know about their powers yet.”

 

“They don’t? But aren’t they like in their 20s? How have they lived their whole life without knowing?” Junmyeon asks a little puzzled. He only found out in his late teens but Tao had told him he was probably a late bloomer so to speak.

 

“Sometimes it happens even later, we don’t really know much about how people get these powers but we assume there’s a certain genetic component since everyone we’ve found has been of Asian descent” Tao pauses “I’m sure it will happen soon though.”

 

“How can you be so sure? What if they don’t have powers?” Junmyeon asks.

 

“That has happened a lot of times actually. I’ve gone on a lot of failed missions, which is why it took me so long to get you after I got Jongdae and Minseok” Tao confesses “I’m absolutely sure about these two though, we have much too much strong evidence, I think they just haven’t embraced their powers yet.”

 

“I hope so” Junmyeon says honestly “I’m curious, what happens if they don’t have powers?”

 

“I just leave them alone, it’s no big deal” Tao says casually.

 

“Even with the information you’ve given them?” Junmyeon asks confused.

 

“They can’t do anything with the information I gave them anyways” Tao pauses “What were you expecting I do? Kill them?”

 

“I don’t know, not kill them, but like erase their brains or something.”

 

“Nah, we don’t even have that tech in my time but even if we did I don’t see a reason to use it” Tao says “They really are harmless, I am very careful to not reveal any mission details before I know they have powers and are on board.”

 

“That’s smart” Junmyeon says yawning. He takes out his phone to check the time. “It’s getting pretty late I think I’m going to sleep.”

 

“I should too, good night Junmyeon” Tao says smiling and patting Junmyeon’s shoulder while passing him on his way to his room on the main floor.

 

“Night” Junmyeon says heading toward the stairs.

 

 ~=+•+=~

_4th of May 2018, Chanyeol and Baekhyun’s apartment, South Korea_

 

Baekhyun puts a bag of microwave popcorn in the microwave and sets it to two minutes. He grabs a folded TV tray table and sets it in front of the TV. Baekhyun goes back to the kitchen to grab two pops from the fridge and set them down on the counter while waiting for the popcorn.  

 

It was a habit at this point, every Friday night they’d either have movie or game night. Usually, they invited a couple more friends over, especially when there’s a baseball game on like tonight. Unfortunately, all their close friends were busy, but Baekhyun didn’t mind it being just him and Chanyeol. Particularly today since this was the match Tao had told them about and he’d like to talk about Tao while they watch. Much to Baekhyun’s surprise the information about the stocks Tao gave them was completely accurate. He was very interested to see if this match would be true too.

 

Baekhyun took out the popcorn and the pop and set it down on the TV tray table before plopping down on the red couch and turning the TV on.

 

“Chanyeol! The game is starting soon!” Baekhyun screams at full volume while throwing a piece of popcorn up and catching it in his mouth.

 

A few moments later Chanyeol walks in the main room and hops over the back of the couch landing right beside Baekhyun, sending Baekhyun in the air slightly before falling back into his spot.

“Do you always have to do that?” Baekhyun asks “I spilled my popcorn!”

 

“Well yeah, it’s way more fun that way and don’t you mean _our_ popcorn?” Chanyeol asks rhetorically while grabbing a fist full of popcorn.

 

“Ungrateful child” Baekhyun grumbles grabbing the bag of popcorn defensively.

 

“You’re only like 6 months older than me” Chanyeol whines.   


“So what? I’m still your hyung, treat me with respect” Baekhyun jokes with a hmph and his nose in the air. Chanyeol flicks his forehead in response.

 

“Ow!” Baekhyun exclaims rubbing his forehead “Hey!”

 

“Put the game on! We’re gonna miss it if you keep whining!”

 

“Yeah fine” Baekhyun switches the channel begrudgingly but he gets over it quickly “I hope my team wins!”

 

“They won’t, you know the Doosan Bears are going to win” Chanyeol says opening his bottle of pop.

 

“So you believe Tao” Baekhyun says with a smirk, he knows Chanyeol doesn’t but he likes to tease him anyway.

 

“You know that’s not it, your team’s just not any good” Chanyeol says though he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t starting to think Tao really was from the future or at least a psychic. “We’ll see about the score though, what did he say 12-7?”

 

“Uh not sure I wrote it down though” Baekhyun takes out his phone to check his note before answering “11-4.”

 

“So even worse than I thought” Chanyeol laughs.

 

“Stop shaming the Lions! I will have none of it under my roof” Baekhyun stomps his foot for effect “You’re really being a disrespectful imp today!”

 

They watch the game and continue to joke around. The boys laugh at players who slip or otherwise mess up. Occasionally, especially when there are dramatic and long shots of players just staring into the distance, they jokingly narrate the players’ thoughts.

 

Every time the lions would score Baekhyun would point out how Daegu’s team doesn’t suck and Chanyeol would point out how Tao was probably lying about knowing the future. They were almost 3/4 through the game and the score was still 4-4.

 

“Looks like Tao is going to be wrong” Chanyeol comments “I can’t believe I’m saying this but at least the Lions actually might win!”

 

“There’s still time, as much as I love the lions, I believe Tao” Baekhyun says trying to get the last bit of popcorn out of the bag before popping the tiny kernel in his mouth.

 

“They barely have any time left and you think the bears will score like 7 points?” Chanyeol asks in disbelief.

 

“We’ll see” Baekhyun hums.

 

Baekhyun turns out to be correct. Despite the odds, the Bears end up getting 6 points and at the very last second (literally) score another bringing their total score to 11. The Lions, on the other hand, won nothing in the last quarter leaving them at 4. Just like Tao predicted.

 

“What a game, that was a legendary play by the Bears” Chanyeol says “Jinho, Wooseok and Hongseok really missed out.”

 

“Tao was right” Baekhyun ignores his friend “He was right about everything... I’m going to call him.”

 

“Call him?” Chanyeol says caught off guard “Why would you call him?”

 

“He told us to call him after the match. Chanyeol we have more than enough proof to at least hear him out” Baekhyun says getting off the couch to grab his phone that was sitting on the kitchen counter. “Plus... I honestly believe he is from the future, it would be impossible to predict all those things with the detail he did.”

 

Chanyeol sighs and walks into the kitchen following his friend “You know what, I’ve wanted to deny it because it just seems ridiculous. Time traveller? Wants to talk to _us_? But you’re right this can’t be some excuse for stalking you, not with that level of precision ... It’s still hard to believe though...”

 

“Tao- Yeah hi it’s Baekhyun, we watched the match, you were right 11-4 was the final score” Baekhyun pauses listening to Tao “The coffeehouse by the auditorium?  Yes we know where that is.... 11am tomorrow works for us... ok see you there.”

 

“So we’re going to talk to future boy?” Chanyeol asks.

 

“Yup”

 


	4. Human Glow Stick

Chanyeol and Baekhyun walk into the coffeehouse and scan the room for Tao. The cafe is surprisingly busy for a Saturday at 11am, which makes it hard to find the black haired man.  The cafe isn’t particularly large, there are about ten small wooden tables with 2-4 wooden chairs per table. It had a very warm and comforting feel to it, rather similar to a great cup of coffee.

 

Baekhyun was the one to spot Tao sitting by one of the beautiful large windows. They walk over and sat at the table.

 

“Thank you for meeting with me” Tao says greeting the boys “Would either of you like anything? My treat!”

 

“Well it is my birthday tomorrow so... sure. I’ll have an iced coffee with one sugar and Chanyeol will have the same” Baekhyun says already knowing his best friends order.

 

They wait in silence for Tao’s return feeling a little anxious about the conversation they’re about to have.

 

“Here you go!” Tao says placing the drinks in front of the two students before placing a clear plastic bag with a bag of coffee beans on the edge of his chair back. “It’s for a friend, he’s very particular about his coffee” he says referencing the bag.

 

“So I guess we should get down to business” Tao says sitting back down in his seat “You guys finally believe me?”

 

“Well... it seems unreasonable to ignore your predictions...” Baekhyun says sheepishly.

 

“It would be, that’s true” Tao pauses to think “Since you seem a little skeptical how about I answer some of the questions I’m sure you have.”

 

They play a fun little game of Q&A, some of the questions were a little pointless like “Do they have real hoverboards in the future” but overall they help Chanyeol and Baekhyun feel more comfortable. Tao re-explains how he was from the future and how he got to this time and how he worked to find Chanyeol and Baekhyun.

 

“So you’re saying you tracked us down because we have superpowers?” Chanyeol asks innocently.

 

“Yes exactly, unless you’ve been lying to me, neither of you know about your powers yet but I’m very sure you have them” Tao explains.

 

“Ok say we do have these undiscovered powers” Baekhyun starts seriously leaning back in his chair for effect “What are they” he finishes quickly leaning forward excitedly with his face between his hands, not every day you get told what superpower you have.  

 

“Well according to our research Chanyeol has the power of fire-” Tao starts.

 

“I’m a firebender? Sweet they were always my favourite nation in avatar despite their bad rep which is like Slytherin, they don’t deserve-” Chanyeol gets interrupted.

 

“Anyways and Baekhyun you have the power of light” Tao continues.

 

“So what? like I _glow_?” Baekhyun asks a little disappointed “So I’m just his sidekick who can like... light up air vents we crawl through when we don’t have a flashlight?”

 

“Well it’s more than that-” Tao starts but is interrupted again.

 

“You’re a glow stick!” Chanyeol laughs falling out of his chair “A human glow stick, you’ll be the life of the party at raves!”

 

“If I may continue” Tao says ignoring Chanyeol “We actually believe Baekhyun is responsible for an unexpected lunar eclipse that happened and he may actually be able to bend light itself.”

 

“Ha! See Chanyeol I’m a bender too I’m a light bender!” Baekhyun says smugly.

 

“Of course you’ll both need to prove you have these powers before I can tell you more about the mission” Tao explains.

 

“Maybe I’m proving it right now, maybe we could turn off these lights and you guys could cup your hands around your eyes and look real close...” Baekhyun says.

 

“Baekhyun I don’t know why you think you glow but you’ll need to actually bend or create light as proof” Tao says a little fed up with the two boys.

 

“It was a reference...” Baekhyun pouts “You future people are no fun.”

 

“But how will we prove we have a power if we aren’t even sure we have one?” Chanyeol asks getting a little more serious.

 

“I have a couple ideas about that actually” Tao pauses “In a lot of cases the first time a person uses their power is when they get very emotional. Like very scared or mad or sad. You guys could try playing horror games or watching really sad movies. I wouldn’t recommend doing anything in public though.”

 

“Do you think walking in the forest at night would work? I know a really scary one outside the city that’s supposedly haunted” Chanyeol asks.

 

“I don’t think that would be wise you could start a forest fire, you won’t know how to control your powers yet” Tao explains.

 

“No no, I was thinking it would be for Baekhyunnie he’s a scaredy cat” Baekhyun frowns and punches Chanyeol in the arm.

 

“If I’m a scaredy cat then you’re a cry baby! You literally cried watching the trailer of a dog movie” Baekhyun says exposing his friend.

 

“The puppy dies! How could I not cry??” Chanyeol says defensively “That’s exactly why I don’t watch sad movies! All they do is make you cry, what’s the point?”

 

“Well that sounds great then!” Tao says happily. Both of the students turn to him confused. “Baekhyun can go in the forest, Chanyeol can watch the movie! Keep a fire extinguisher close by though.”

 

“I guess...” Chanyeol mumbles not at all looking forward to it even if it means he’ll gain powers.

 

“What if it doesn’t work though? What if I go through the horrible ghost forest and still don’t get any powers?” Baekhyun asks.  

 

“That is a possibility, usually I would have already given up on you two but I am very sure about your powers” Tao says not bothering to sugar coat it “If you still don’t have your powers I am willing to let you spend some time with my friends, they may have more tips on activating your powers.”

 

Tao gets up and grabs his bag before looking back at the students.

 

“I’m sorry but I will have to leave now, it was great talking with you. Good luck! and make sure to call me after you’ve tried the forest and the movie”

 

 ~=+•+=~

Idk where to put this so [ Entrance ](http://www.ginaslibrary.info/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Mansion-Interior-Entrance.jpg)

 

_12th of May 2018, Tao’s house, South Korea_

 

Sehun hesitantly reaches for the handle of the front door. He’s very nervous to meet the other members of the mission Tao told him about. It’s not that he thinks he won’t like it here (he’s honestly incredibly relieved to leave his time) or that he thinks they’ll be mean. It’s just that he’s worried he’s going to mess up somehow. From what Tao told him he knows that two of them are from the Joseon era and he doesn’t want to offend them with his ignorance. He also knows there’s a certain age gap, they are all in their early twenties while he _just_ turned 18 literally a month ago, he hadn’t even served in the military.

 

“It’s ok Sehun you don’t have to talk to them today if you don’t want to” Tao reassures them “I know this can be stressful, if you want you can just set up your room right away, it is getting late.”

 

“No it’s alright” Sehun says opening the door “I want to meet my new housemates.”

 

The first thing that Sehun notices is the incredible staircase in the entryway it’s rather large, but judging from the exterior, so is the rest of the house. It’s certainly not what he expected of the future though. The entryway was very beautiful and obviously expensive but it looks similar to what he’d find in a rich man’s house in 1950.

 

“I believe everyone is in the living room” Tao says “It’s just through the doorway to your left.”

 

Sehun walks through the arch and looks into the living room, again not much different than what would be found in his time. He sees three head on the couch, they seem to be looking at a very large...TV? So much for not being different. Sehun hasn’t even seen a TV in person and this one is huge, flat and coloured.

 

“Woah” Sehun says with wide eyes

 

“Oh, is this Sehun? So it worked out! Was his power really sand?” Jongdae asks intrigued.

 

“Actually it’s wind, but I’m pretty good at creating sand storms... small ones anyways” Sehun says feeling a _little_ more comfortable.

 

“Jongdae you should have introduced yourself” Minseok comments getting up to bow “I am Minseok, nice to meet you Sehun.”

 

“The guard right?” Sehun says trying to remember what Tao had told him.

 

“Well not so much anymore but yes” Minseok says smiling.

 

“So you must be Junmyeon” Sehun says looking at Junmyeon “and you are Jongdae- I mean Daegun Jongdae, I should have bowed I’m sorry.”

 

“No it’s ok, I’m not really a Prince anymore anyways but I’m glad you know who I am, Junmyeon didn’t even though Tao told me people would remember me” Jongdae says scoffing slightly.

 

“I said some people would know” Tao says defending himself.

 

“Uh I actually only know because Tao told me” Sehun says laughing awkwardly and rubbing the back of his neck.

 

“I can’t win!” Jongdae says unceremoniously falling back on the couch.

 

“Ignore him, he can be a bit over dramatic.” Minseok explains “Would you mind telling us a bit about yourself?”

 

“Sure! There’s not much to tell though, I’m just a regular citizen from Seoul, I just turned 18...” Sehun says trying to think of what else to say “I have wind powers but you already know that... oh and I’m from 1950”

 

Minseok and Junmyeon drop their smiles.

 

“1950... why do I remember that year” Jongdae says getting back off the couch “Oh yeah it’s the year North- Oh” Jongdae stops before he says anything more.

 

“Sehun I’m so sorry.” Junmyeon says going to comfort younger.

 

“It’s alright I mean World War 2 ended 5 years ago so I mean my childhood was pretty scary but it got better and I didn’t serve in the military so...” Sehun starts “I’d rather not talk about the war though.”

 

“Oh yeah no of course” Junmyeon says a little confused.

 

“Sehun how about you go pick a room, you can take one on the main floor” Tao instructs.

 

“I-it’s just beside the stairs right?” Sehun says while trying to calm himself, memories of the war always shake him up.

 

“Yes, that one” Tao clarifies.

 

No one says anything till Sehun leaves the room.

 

“Wasn’t 1950 the year North Korea attacked South Korea and started the Korean War?” Jongdae says unsure, he hasn’t studied the recent history that much.

 

“Yes it was which is why I’m confused” Minseok says before turning to Tao “Is he in denial or something? He’s acting like it never happened.”

 

“I got him out in May and the war started in June, he never lived through the attack.” Tao explains “When I time travel I only change years, my powers are somewhat limited. I live every day of the year. That’s also why when I leave I’m gone for the full amount of time I spend in the other time.”

 

“What? Can you re-explain that?” asks a very confused Jongdae.

 

“Ok think of it this way, I live just like you, I go to bed on April 27th and wake up on April 28th. The only difference is I can pick what year I want to spend that day in” Tao explains.

 

“So you can’t like skip to December?” Minseok asks starting to understand.

 

“No I can’t” Tao confirms.

 

“That sucks what if you suddenly want to see it snow or something?” Junmyeon comments.

 

“Well, we have Minseok” Jongdae points out.

 

Minseok smiles and creates a single beautiful snowflake to support Jongdae’s point.

 

“So, I was thinking you all might like to help me pick my next little time trip?” Tao asks “I know I haven’t been open about it but-”

 

“We’d love to!” Jongdae says enthusiastically.

 

“Right! Ok I’ll go get the files” Tao says.

 

Tao walks back in with 5 large yellow file folders and places them on the coffee table in front of the couch. The boys spend a long time going through all the pieces of evidence. Tao’s government found a ton of possible people with powers. They eventually start narrowing down their options.

 

“So we’ve narrowed the trip down to these four options?” Minseok asks.

 

“Right” Tao agrees, taking the other files off the table “So we’ve got China during the Ming, Japan during the Edo period, the United States in the early 90s and England during the plague.”

 

“I mean they are all good options, they all have a pretty good amount of proof, so any of the options would be a good choice” Junmyeon states “it’s just a matter of picking one really.”

 

“Baekhyun and Chanyeol might drop by if they need to right? So we should probably pick the one that will take the least amount of time” Jongdae points out “So that would be the US in the early 90s, there are two of them so it probably won’t take long to convince them and it will take only a couple of hours to be ready for travel.”

 

“Well we should also consider the possibility of success, yes the two from the 90s are going to take less time but if they don’t have powers it’s time wasted” Minseok counters “England during the plague is almost guaranteed, it might take longer to recuperate after travel but I think it’s worth it, I mean look at this” Minseok opens the file and starts going through the many, many pages of evidence.

 

“This doctor cured thousands of lives, it was unheard of at the time and many of the lives he saved didn’t even have the money to pay him” Minseok argues “He very clearly has healing powers, there’s no way he could have done this. He would have gone broke very quickly even if he grew and made all the medication himself. I’m surprised he wasn’t caught.”

 

“So it’s a debate between speed and success rate?” Tao asks.  

 

“Seems like” Junmyeon agrees “We should take a vote, since there are only four of us Tao’s vote will count twice, he is the one doing it after all.”

 

“Well since we already know my vote and Minseok’s vote it really just comes down to Tao” Jongdae says looking at Tao.

 

“Nice knowing my advice is valued” Junmyeon mumbles so quietly that no one hears him.

 

“Hmm well...” Tao says looking through the files “I have wanted to practice my English and I’m still a bit tired from getting Sehun... the 90s it is.”

 

“Great! So you’ll leave after breakfast tomorrow?” Junmyeon asks starting to put the files away.

 

“Actually, can you pass me their schedules?” Tao asks Junmyeon. Junmyeon goes through the file finding the paper and handing it to Tao. Tao looks over it before saying “Yeah looks the best time to meet them tomorrow would be during their shift at the diner they start work at 8 am on Sundays, so I think I’ll skip breakfast and have it there.”

 

“Aww then who will enjoy my coffee with me?” Minseok pouts slightly looking at Junmyeon.

 

“Don’t look at me, I’m strictly a green tea person, it’s much healthier” Junmyeon answers the silent question.

 

“I think I’m willing to try it” Jongdae pipes up “As long as it’s better than the first cup you gave me.”

 

“I told you I was just a beginner! I promise I’m better now, I’ll even use the new beans Tao got me last week” Minseok says getting excited “They’re from Peru, it’s a sweet blend.”

 

“I hope so I really didn’t like the bitterness” Jongdae sticks out his tongue remembering the awful taste.

 

“I told you I was just having a rough start! It’s because of the way-”

 

“Please don’t spend too long in the 90s” Junmyeon pleads to Tao while the other boys are having a domestic argument “I don’t want to third wheel with these guys.”

 

“One week max I swear” Tao promises “and remember you have little Sehun to keep you company.”

 


	5. Just Your Average College Roommate AU

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  A/N: I want to make this very clear. There is no homophobia in this fic whatsoever BUT Kyungsoo is an American and this is the 90s so his ways of thinking might not be so PC by our standard BUT he does not mean any offence.

_13th of May 1993, Chicago, United States of America_  

 

Kyungsoo pulls out white button-up and black dress pants. He still has 45 minutes to get ready before he has to be at work but it’s only a 5-minute walk from his dorm building so he’s in no rush.

 

After getting changed he makes his way to the kitchen, he prefers eating before work. He pours himself a glass of orange juice and takes his bagel out of the toaster. Once he finishes eating he realizes he hadn't heard a single sound from his roommate's room. Kyungsoo looks down at his watch 7:30, 10 minutes before he should be walking to work.

 

“Here we go again” Kyungsoo mutters to himself walking towards roommate’s room.

 

Kyungsoo thinks he’s quite tolerant of his roommate. They are both Korean and speak Korean fluently, but Kyungsoo was raised in American whereas his roommate was raised in Korea and came to Chicago for the dance program at their college. So there are a few cultural differences between them. There are some habits his roommate has that Kyungsoo finds... questionable. He’s studying ballet, he cares much more for his appearance than an American man would and he has so many skincare products. Not that Kyungsoo judges that sort of thing but he comes off as well... gay. He knows it’s probably just a cultural difference and everything but he’s also kinda clingy and touchy. Kyungsoo accepts him the way he is though and he’s gotten used to the hugging but there is one little habit his roommate has Kyungsoo’s really fed up with, his ability to sleep through alarms.

 

“Hey” Kyungsoo says poking his friend’s face “Wake up.”

 

“Ten more minutes mom.”

 

“Do I sound like your mom?” Kyungsoo asks emphasizing his low voice. Kyungsoo reaches down and pulls the blanket off.  

 

“No but you sure nag like her” he mumbles into his pillow while trying to grab at the missing blanket without opening his sleepy eyes.

 

“Kim Jongin you have 10 minutes to get your ass out of this bed, dressed and out the door, we are not going to be late again.” Kyungsoo says sternly “I will leave without you.”

 

“Fine fine I’m up” Jongin says getting out of his bed, he pauses and looks at Kyungsoo “Are you going to leave? As someone said, rather rudely, I need to get dressed. I’m fine if you stay but-”

 

Kyungsoo leaves immediately while mumbling “Immature child”.

 

Sometimes he forgets Jongin is actually a year younger since they are both in their first year of university, Jongin was accepted early which was really rare for international students. His grades must have been incredible. Well, that and his dance audition, Jongin never showed Kyungsoo his dance routines but from what he hears from friends Jongin’s is a prodigy.

 

“Jongin I’m leaving....” Kyungsoo yells while opening the door.

 

“Hyung! I’m coming wait like one second” Jongin yells back while hoping to the door putting on his second sock.

 

One thing Kyungsoo does admire is Jongin’s ability to go from asleep to out the door in less than 15 minutes.

 

They end up getting to the diner 5 minutes early, probably due to Kyungsoo’s speed walking.

 

“See hyung we’re early” Jongin smiles at his friend while opening the door.

 

“We’re not early, we are meant to be 5 minutes early, just because we’re always late doesn’t mean-” Kyungsoo is interrupted.

 

“Can you two not speak Korean at the diner, makes us feel like you’re talking about us behind our backs” their supervisor comments.

 

“Sorry” They say in unison switching to English.

 

The morning part of their shift is rather normal, nothing too busy so even when they are the only two waiters, there’s nothing stressful, well for Kyungsoo anyways.

 

“Hyung, that woman always judges my accent. Please wait her table for me” Jongin begs Kyungsoo once they are in the kitchen.

 

“Nini your English is incredible for someone who’s only spent a year in Chicago, stop feeling so self-conscious” Kyungsoo says walking back into the sitting area of the diner “Plus..... I have to go wait that gentleman over there. Hello sir, I'll be with you in a minute!” Kyungsoo glares at his friend as to say “behave”.

 

Honestly, Kyungsoo doesn’t like that woman either, she makes rude comments about the decor, the food, the coffee, the list goes on and yet comes back every week.

 

“Hello, sir what will you be having this morning” Kyungsoo says taking out his pen.

 

“I’ll have... scrambled eggs and just a black coffee please” the gentleman answers.

 

“Would you like anything on the side with your eggs?” Kyungsoo asks.

 

“Could I have a side of fried tomatoes?” the man asks.

 

“It’s not on the menu but I could ask the chef if you’d like” Kyungsoo answers.

 

“That would be great thank you.”

 

Kyungsoo goes back to the kitchen to inform the chef of the order when he’s pulled into the bathroom.

 

“Jongin! I’m trying to work” Kyungsoo yells while trying to keep his voice quiet enough so his boss can’t hear him.

 

“Pleeeeeeease take over table 5 that woman is absolutely awful she made me get her 3 cups of coffee claiming they weren’t ‘fresh’ enough but they were just brewed! I’ll owe you I swear just let me switch tables with you” Jongin pleads.

 

“You know what fine ok, here’s his order” Kyungsoo says handing the page to Jongin “but you really do owe me.”

 

“Thank you” Jongin says hugging him.

 

Nothing too interesting happens for the rest of their very long shift, although Jongin seems to be acting a little odd. Kyungsoo makes a mental note to talk about it later.

 

When it’s finally time to leave Kyungsoo is relieved. They work 12 hours on Wednesday, it’s super long but the other days of the week they don’t have to work much. Both him and Jongin are currently on summer break so they have no homework to do tonight so they can just watch a movie or something when they get home.

 

“8:14, didn’t stay too long cleaning after closing” Kyungsoo smiles while checking his watch. He looks up at Jongin who is not smiling at all “Jongin are you ok?”

 

“I-” Jongin starts “Let’s go to the park.”

 

“Ok...” The park at 8 pm?

 

“Here! I know a shortcut let’s turn left” Jongin says grabbing Kyungsoo’s arm and running into a dark alley.

 

“I don’t think we should go in there!” Kyungsoo says getting really scared.

 

Jongin pulls him behind a dumpster and before Kyungsoo can freak out anymore, everything is different, there’s brightness and cool breeze. Takes a minute before Kyungsoo’s brain catches up.

 

“Wha- Where” Kyungsoo starts.

 

“This is my favourite place to see the sunrise, we’re too late though” Jongin says walking towards the beach.

 

“What the actual fuck is going on right now” Kyungsoo gasps.

 

“Language!” Jongin says turning backwards looking at Kyungsoo “I- I didn’t think we’d be safe at home so I brought us here”

 

“You- what did you do like d-drug me or hit me on the head how d-did we get here and why can’t I remember it” Kyungsoo says shakily.

 

“What? I wouldn’t hurt you I’m trying to protect you” Jongin says taking a step towards Kyungsoo.

 

“S-stay where you are” Kyungsoo is completely terrified. If it comes to it he will use his power against Jongin but he’s too shaken to remember how right now. “Just tell me what you did.”

 

“I teleported us” Jongin says with a confused face “Why are you surprised?”

 

“Teleported?” Kyungsoo asks wanting to believe his friend.

 

“Yes? I told you I could teleport” Jongin says cocking his head.

 

“You told- that was a joke though!” Kyungsoo says remembering the little joke.

 

“No, I thought you knew I was being serious when I said I was going to teleport to see my family, I even brought candy back once, why did you think I was joking?” Jongin asks.

 

“I don’t know maybe because people can’t teleport?” Kyungsoo says sarcastically, knowing full well people shouldn’t be able to control rocks either. “I thought you got those from an Asian food store or something...”

 

“That was one heck of a misunderstanding” Jongin says rubbing the back of his neck. “Well uhh maybe you should take a seat and I’ll try to explain this a bit more.”

 

After the little re-explanation, Kyungsoo is much calmer and has some much better questions.

 

“So... where are we exactly?” Kyungsoo asks “Obviously not in America since it’s not night here.”

 

“I’m not exactly sure honestly. It’s in Korea, I know that. I used to visit this beach a lot when I was young. Since I have strong memories of this place, it’s one of the easiest places to teleport to, well my house is easier but I have to let my family know I’m coming over” Jongin explains.

 

“So, not that it’s not lovely here but why are we here instead of home and why the running into the alley” Kyungsoo asks.

 

“I thought someone might be following us so I had to act quick and well I thought you knew about my teleporting and would catch on but” Jongin pauses and chuckles at the situation they were in a little while ago “Anyways that guy I asked to wait instead of you this morning was weird, I don’t trust him.”

 

“I mean I don’t think asking for tomatoes is _that_ weird” Kyungsoo hardly thinks that’s a reason to avoid going home.

 

“No, not that” Jongin says taking out a piece of paper from his pocket “He slipped this under the bill.”

 

The note was written in Korean and said:

 

“Kim Jongin, we need to talk. Meet me by the coffee shop closest to your house after your shift. Oh and bring Kyungsoo too.”

 

“Was he in one of our classes?” Kyungsoo asks.

 

“Oh... I didn’t think of that” Jongin says “Uh he might have been but why didn’t he mention it?”

 

“Maybe he’s just shy?” Kyungsoo suggests.

 

“That would explain why he didn’t speak much” Jongin sighs lowering his head “I’m so stupid...”

 

“No no you’re not stupid, it’s natural to freak out a bit and while most people wouldn’t run away to the other side of the globe... you did what made sense given your special circumstances” Kyungsoo says rubbing his friend’s back “I’d hate to have my first trip to Korea end this quickly but I think we should go meet the guy.”

 

“Yeah, he’s probably been waiting for a little while” Jongin admits “Alright we should go back then.”

 

“Be cool if you could teleport and control time, huh” Kyungsoo chuckles.

 

“I wish but I think I’m kind of a special case, never see people with powers on Oprah” Jongin says walking away from the bench and mentally preparing himself to teleport.

 

“Nini?” Kyungsoo says making Jongin open his eyes and look back at his friend “There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you.”

 

“What is it?” Jongin asks curiously

 

“Uhhhh I-” Kyungsoo stutters mentally scolding himself for not being able to talk. If Jongin can tell him about his power than Kyungsoo can too. “I might kinda also have a power?”

 

Jongin stands completely still without saying a word.

 

“Jongin?” Kyungsoo asks getting more and more nervous about Jongin’s reaction. “Jongin you’re really freaking me out here” Kyungsoo says looking at the ground. Suddenly he feels Jongin hugging him.

 

“I knew we met for a reason!” Jongin said happily “It’s fate right! I travel across the world and you just happen to have powers too! We’re meant to be friends this is so great!” He squeezes Kyungsoo harder.

 

“It is quite the coincidence” Kyungsoo agrees while trying to wiggle out of the hug “We should be going back home though.”

 

“Oh you’re right” Jongin lets go and because more serious “We should get going but first, what is your power?”

 

“It’s not as interesting but it’s earth” Kyungsoo explains “I can like move rocks, which everyone else can do by just picking them so it’s lame.”

 

“Don’t say that! When I started learning to teleport I could only move a distance of one meter, ‘which everyone else can do’” Jongin smiles quoting his friend “but I practiced and now look! I’m sure if you practice you’ll be able to move mountains.”

 

“Thanks Jonginnie” Kyungsoo smiles “Let’s go!”

 

In a flash, they found themselves back in the dark alley. Much less startling for Kyungsoo than the first time. They make their way over to the coffee shop. Luckily the guy was still there.

 

“Hi, sorry we’re late” Kyungsoo says to greet the man “What did you want to talk about?”

 

“I don’t want to freak you out so let’s have a seat” They all sit at the table “Is there anything you’d want, a cake, ice cream or coffee?” He asks.

 

“I’m ok, it’s fine” Jongin answers.

 

“Me too” Kyungsoo mumbles.

 

“Ok well, I’m not sure how to say this but” The man looks around scanning the crowd “I know about your powers, but don’t worry! I have one as well.”

 

Kyungsoo and Jongin start feeling uncomfortable, even if he has a power too.

 

“I mean I heard Jongin is really good at dancing but I’m not sure you could consider that a ‘power’, as for me, I mean I’m nothing special” Kyungsoo lies very calmly.

 

Jongin wants to both applaud Kyungsoo’s incredible acting skill he didn’t know he had and disagree with the “nothing special” comment. He chooses to say nothing since unlike Kyungoo he really not a great liar, particularly under pressure.

 

“Listen there’s no reason to lie,” the man says “I know about the teleporting and everything. I have a mission for you two but I’d want you to think it over. Feel free to take your time to think it over.” The man hands over a briefcase.

 

“What are you talking about?” Kyungsoo asks with true curiosity.

 

“I think it’s best you just read the documents, they explain much better than I could” The man insists “If you have any questions, want proof or reassurance of any kind, feel free to call me my number is also in there.”

 

They leave the cafe feeling very uncomfortable, Jongin’s idea to run away to Korea doesn’t seem so bad right now. The fact that this man knew about their powers is terrifying and they don’t think they should trust him at all. Their curiosity is strong though so they agree that they’ll read the documents. If they find that the man is probably stalking them they’ll call the police or just run away to Korea again. After they planned how they’ll handle this with safe backup plans they head straight to bed since they have a 3-hour shift tomorrow morning. At least they are working together again so when they get home together they’ll open the briefcase.

 

The next morning is exactly the same as the one before, Kyungsoo gives himself a reasonable amount of time to wake up, Jongin doesn’t. They speed walk there and get there with 3 minutes to spare.

 

The shift today is just as boring as the day before but that terrible woman isn’t there.

 

“I hope you enjoyed your meal sir” Kyungsoo says handing the bill to a client.

 

“It was really great, the coffee was great too!” The man says getting his wallet out. “I hope this doesn’t sound too weird but here’s my number. I’m new in town and if you wouldn’t mind showing me around after your shift just give me a call.” He says paying the bill before getting up and walking towards the door.

 

“My name’s Tao by the way.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BOOM PLOT TWIST I hope that’s as cool as I think.
> 
>  
> 
> A/N: Kyungsoo thought Tao was hitting on him but he called him anyways to let him down easy (he’s already got a man ;) )


	6. Something Wicked This Way Comes

_25th of May 2018, Tao’s house, South Korea_

 

“Junmyeon I’m home!” Tao yells as he comes through the door “You two can go put your luggage in your room if you want, it’s the room upstairs farthest to the left.”

 

Kyungsoo and Jongin follow Tao’s instructions and run up the huge double staircase.

 

“You took almost 2 weeks!” Junmyeon pouts after walking into the foyer “You promised! It’s not just that I had to deal with the old married couple alone but also I- _we_ were getting worried.”

 

“I’m sorry there were some... complications” Tao explains “Do you mind if we talk about it in the living room? I’m exhausted.”

 

“Sure” Junmyeon agrees as they go and sit on the living room couch.

“The day before I was able to contact Jongin and Kyungsoo, they were approached by a different man” Tao explains “Somehow he knew about their powers, I suspect he might be implied with the group we are trying to stop.”

 

“What group is that again?” Junmyeon asks fully knowing Tao has never told him.

 

“You know I’m not going to give you more details until we have enough people on our side.” Tao says glaring “ _Anyways_ , the guy told them that their powers would be useful on a mission or something stupid like that and gave them a briefcase. Because of all of that, it took forever to gain the boys’, particularly Kyungsoo’s trust, which is why I’m late.”

 

“Well that sucks, did you track down the guy to make sure he’s not a threat?” Junmyeon asks.

 

“Unfortunately no, the only way to contact him was by phone and I may have blown up the page with his number” Junmyeon gives Tao a judgy look “Don’t look at me like that! I didn’t know it was in the briefcase, which was bugged by the way, which is why I blew it up in the first place.”

 

“So you blew up, didn’t just cut the wires” Junmyeon points out “Someone just wanted to look cool using tech from his time.” He says nudging Tao’s arm.

“It seemed like a good decision at the time...” Tao grumbles “Can I finish my story now?”

 

“Wait, but you said it was bugged? That tech was available in 1993?” Junmyeon asks intrigued.

 

“It wasn’t easy to get a hold of, but yes” Tao answers and leans back on the couch closing his eyes.

 

“Aren’t you going to finish the story?” Junmyeon asks confused.

 

“Finish? Oh! Right the end is: it all worked out and now I’m very tired from travelling so could you please give me a back massage” Tao pouts.

 

“You’re seriously so spoiled” Junmyeon scoffs.

 

“I’m taking that as a yes” Tao responds with a smirk.

 

“Yeah alright fine...”

 

“Hey Tao-” Kyungsoo says walking into the living room “Oh sorry guys, I didn’t mean to interrupt or anything, it’s ok uh I’ll leave you two alone this can wait” Kyungsoo says backing out of the room.

 

“No it’s alright, go ahead, my shoulders can wait” Tao says completely oblivious to what Kyungsoo meant “What did you want to talk about?”

 

“Uh ok... well I just wanted to know where the bathroom was” Kyungsoo asks a little confused about the scene he just saw. Were they not dating? He’d have to ask later.

 

“Junmyeon, Minseok and I were about to head out so-” Jongdae says walking into the room “Oh hello, you must be Jongin or Kyungsoo, I’m Jongdae” Jongdae says holding out his hand.

 

“I’m Kyungsoo, Jongin is upstairs.” Kyungsoo says shaking his hand “ Jongdae? You look familiar... Oh yeah! You’re that Daegun that randomly disappeared with your guard right? I heard about that in my Korean history course. My prof loves unsolved mysteries.”

 

“You actually know me?” Jongdae asks in shock “Tao you weren’t lying! Minseok! Kyungsoo recognized me!”

 

“That’s great now let’s get going we’re going to be late!” Minseok yells from the entryway while putting on his shoes.

 

“No fun”

~=+•+=~

 

_25th of May 2018, Baekhyun and Chanyeol’s apartment, South Korea_

 

“Baekhyun, you’ve literally put this off for forever, tonight let’s go to the haunted forest” Chanyeol says trying to get his friend’s attention who’s playing PUBG on their computer.

 

“I was super busy with classes” Baekhyun brushes off the idea, eyes glued to the screen “Plus I didn’t see you watching the movie either”

 

“I see how busy you are...” Chanyeol says sarcastically “Come on it’s Friday night, you have no plans tonight or tomorrow morning, it’s a perfect time!”

 

“Wrong! I’m planning on getting first place again” Baekhyun says referring to the fact that he just won the match.

 

“Great! You’re done let’s go!” Chanyeol says pulling Baekhyun’s arm.

 

“Hey!” Baekhyun shouts struggling against Chanyeol’s hold “I never agreed to this!”

 

“We promised Tao, if you do this tonight then I’ll watch the movie tomorrow” Chanyeol says seriously with those puppy dog eyes no one on this planet could resist.

 

“Yeah, alright fine” Baekhyun agrees.

 

They take the bus for almost an hour, the forest is very very far from their dorm. During the ride Baekhyun only gets more and more nervous. When they left the house the sun was starting to set but now it’s very dark out. The bus stops at their stop, they’ll have to walk a bit to get to the forest but they are very close.

 

“Chanyeol I don’t think I can do this” Baekhyun says looking at Chanyeol with wide eyes.

 

“Baekhyun we’ve come all the way here and I absolutely promise you’ll be safe” Chanyeol says softly, “We need to know if we have powers, this is really important.”

 

Baekhyun sighs and takes two deep breaths “You’re right... let’s get off the bus before it leaves the stop” he says starting to get up “and Chanyeol? Don’t you dare leave my side I need you to scare off all the ghosts.”

 

“Do I scare them with my height or strong arms” Chanyeol smirks while pulling his sleeve up to show off

 

“Neither, it’s with your funny looking face” Baekhyun laughs feeling a bit better, maybe this night won’t be terrible.

 

Baekhyun is very wrong, this night is indeed the worst. Once they get to the forest, they can’t see the lights of the city anymore and everything is pitch black except for what their flashlight is pointed at. It feels like they were thrown right into slenderman and Baekhyun couldn’t sleep properly for a week after playing 5 minutes. He hears a twig snap and quickly wraps both of his arms around Chanyeol’s.

 

“CHANYEOL WHAT WAS THAT” Baekhyun screeches into Chanyeol’s ear.

 

“Probably a bunny” Chanyeol answers before he realizes he’s supposed to make Baekhyun scared “I mean the zombies of this forest only come out on a waxing gibbous moon” Chanyeol looks up at the moon before looking back down at Baekhyun “I’m sorry Baekhyun I didn’t know the moon was a waxing gibbous tonight, I wouldn’t have brought us”

 

“I know you just made that up, you’re a terrible liar” Baekhyun says but his heart is racing.

 

“No, I didn’t, the legend is a newlywed couple was camping here in June. The full moon in June is called a ‘honeymoon’ so they thought it would be fun to spend their honeymoon in the forest where they could see the moon nice and bright. They didn’t just want to go for one night because I mean that’s a lame honeymoon so they came the night before on the waxing gibbous moon. The only thing is they didn’t live to see their precious honeymoon” Chanyeol says ominously.

 

“B-but why would they think this forest would make a good honeymoon spot” Baekhyun says before calming himself a bit “Chanyeol your story doesn’t make sense but I’ll admit you’re good at making stuff up on the spot”

 

“They hadn’t heard about the ghosts that haunt these woods but they greatly suffered for their ignorance” Chanyeol says ignoring Baekhyun’s critics, he knows that even if Baekhyun doesn’t believe it could be true at all, he’ll still get scared “The couple had a little bit of an argument, most people suspect it was about family matters, so the wife decides to walk, she calls her friends to complain and then walks over that stream right over there. No one is too sure what happened but she was found dead the next day, drowned in it, by a hiker”

 

“T-there are two things that d-don’t make with that, you’re getting sloppy” Baekhyun points out “How could she drown in that amount of water it’s tiny and how is she a zombie if they found her body”

 

“You never let me finish Baekhyun! When the hiker went to get the police, the body was gone. As for the drowning, you can drown in that if someone like an angry husband or vengeful spirit holds your head down” Chanyeol says while sneaking his hand behind Baekhyun’s head and pushing lightly to freak him out.

 

“FU-” Baekhyun yells before hearing Chanyeol burst out laughing “YOU ARE SUCH A DICK”

 

“Hey! I’m just trying to help you find your powers” Chanyeol laughs with tears still in his eyes “but you’re not glowing yet so let’s continue the story so you’ll know what to look out for ok?”

 

“Not ok” Baekhyun mumbles to himself.

 

“So that’s how the wife died, but the husband is much more curious. He should have stayed in the tent right? Well, he didn’t. The hiker found his corpse impaled on a branch, half-eaten. He was also gone when the police came. Some believe the wife’s corpse came alive during that night to get revenge and then fell right back into the water, others believe it was the work of a ghost and some wild animals. One thing is for sure, it would take supernatural strength to have impaled someone like that. So zombie wife or ghost, take your pick, but since that night the waterlogged body of the wife and the half-eaten body of the husband hunt in these woods but only on the waxing gibbous, but they usually only eat small woodland creatures or children so I’m safe. You however...” Chanyeol jokes to break the tension a bit. He’s quite proud he made that up on the spot, that documentary on moon cycles he watched yesterday sure came in handy.

 

“I came in this stupid forest with you I don’t need you insulting my height on top of that” Baekhyun answers

 

“Did you hear that?” Chanyeol says very seriously “I thought I heard water”

 

“We’re beside a stream Chanyeol” Baekhyun says not taking any more of his BS.

 

“No it sounded like a wet step” Chanyeol says loudly before walking closer to the stream.

 

“Chanyeol don’t you dare leave me!” Baekhyun says holding on to Chanyeol’s wrist for dear life. “I don’t care about your stupid story!”

 

“But that wasn’t Chanyeol’s story” Chanyeol says turning back towards Baekhyun while smirking.

 

“W-why are you speaking in the third person” Baekhyun says, he’s never seen that look in Chanyeol’s eyes before.

 

“Chanyeol’s not home right now” Chanyeol says while stepping towards Baekhyun “I’m the one who drowned the girl and threw her cheating scum of her husband on the branch.”

 

“C-chanyeol can you stop that i-it’s not even scary” Baekhyun lies while taking a step back.

 

“You seem scared to me” Chanyeol says in a low chuckle, taking another step forwards forcing Baekhyun backwards “Almost like you just want to...run!”

 

The second Chanyeol says that Baekhyun feels two hands clamp around his feet and he lets out the loudest scream he’s ever made before kicking his legs free.

 

“I think I’m deaf and blind!” Chanyeol yells “Did you have to yell that loud Baekhyun damn”

 

“I hate you!” Baekhyun yells “and who touched my feet? Whoever you are, I hate you too!”  

 

“Well that’s a great way to introduce myself” a voice says from the ground.

 

“Get up and introduce yourself properly then but I’ll still hate you” Baekhyun replies.

 

“I’d like to but I’m still seeing spots” the voice replies while getting up.

 

“Seeing spots?” Baekhyun asks confused.

 

“Baekhyunnie you shot of a beam of light as bright as the sun I swear to god” Chanyeol says “My eyes are still trying to readjust to this stupid dim flashlight but I can’t see anything right now.”

 

“Wait I-I made light?” Baekhyun asks excitedly “This hell was worth something?”

 

“Yeah you did, I’m Jongdae by the way” Jongdae says finally being able to see again “and that over there is Minseok.”

 

“Hi!” Minseok says after coming out behind a tree “I had nothing to do with this, I was just here to keep Jongdae company, but congrats on your power.”

 

“Well then Minseok, I don’t hate you” Baekhyun says still trying to calm down from the scare “but who are you guys?”

 

“They work with Tao” Chanyeol answers.

 

“Work with, eat all his food and use his TV, same thing really” Jongdae jokes.

 

“Tao suggested they help me scare you, apparently they don’t get out much” Chanyeol explains.

 

“Tao said that? What a rude little time boy” Jongdae grumbles.

 

“We have powers too, mine’s ice and Jongdae’s is lightning” Minseok explains.

 

“Not that this isn’t a great conversation but can we leave death forest, made up dumb zombies or not” Baekhyun says quickly.

 

“I worked hard on that story! You try making stuff up on the spot, see how good your story is” Chanyeol defends himself “Wait do you hear that?”

 

“Don’t traumatize the poor boy anymore, there’s no need” Minseok says.

 

“No there’s a-” Chanyeol says before he starts screaming and running.

 

“Does he usually do that?” Jongdae asks Baekhyun who’s still a little freaked out.

 

“No, not unless...” Baekhyun starts realizing what happened “he sees a bug”

 

“Yeah, like Baekhyunnie said let’s get the hell out of here” Chanyeol says quickly as he walks back towards the other boys.

 

“Before we go our separate ways, I just thought we’d invite you for training next Friday at Tao’s house if you two are available? I can pick you up” Minseok proposes.

 

“Sure we only have one morning class so, could be fun” Baekhyun answers.

 

~=+•+=~

 

_26th of May 2018, Chanyeol and Baekhyun’s apartment, South Korea_

 

“It’s time for you to watch the movie Chanyeol!” Baekhyun whines “I went in that terrible forest, dealt with your stories and Jongdae, you can watch a dog movie!”

 

“It’s a _sad_ dog movie!” Chanyeol defends “but fine you’re right, get the fire extinguisher ready I don’t want to lose our safety deposit on this place.”

 

“We could always move in with Tao, he said he had a room for us” Baekhyun points out.

 

“Yeah but we need to stay near school until at least after exams” Chanyeol rebuttals “he lives like an hour away.”

 

“Fine, well just start the movie then” Baekhyun says pulling Chanyeol towards the TV.

 

“You’ll stay beside me right? Like I did for you?” Chanyeol asks “I’ll need hugs.”

 

“You pretended to be possessed by a ghost I hardly call that comforting but yes I’ll stay with you” Baekhyun says sitting beside Chanyeol “but the second there’s fire I will spray you head to toe in foam even if you’re sobbing.”

 

“I only did that because you weren’t standing close enough to Jongdae” Chanyeol explains “and yeah when there’s fire deal with that first.”

 

The two was the movie which isn’t as sad as they thought it would be, the dog is reborn and through the dog’s many lives he finds his way back to his owner. Chanyeol still cried a lot thinking about his old dogs but Baekhyun was there to comfort him the whole time. No matter how many tears were shed not even an ember could be found in their apartment.

 

“Wow what a waste” Chanyeol says whipping his last tear “Reminding me of all my childhood pets for nothing, great.”

 

“I’m sorry Chanyeol” Baekhyun says going to hug his friend again “I really am, I thought this would work or I wouldn’t have suggested it, but hey, maybe you’ll get your powers at the little training session next Friday?” he says softly.

 

“I hope so” Chanyeol says hugging Baekhyun harder.

 

~=+•+=~

 

_1st of June 2018, Tao’s house, South Korea_

 

Junmyeon, Jongdae, Minseok and Tao are all in the entryway to say goodbye before Tao leaves on another mission.

 

“Are you sure you’re well enough for this trip?” Junmyeon asks Tao sincerely.

 

“I’ve had a week’s rest and I only travelled like 20 years, I’m really fine, I promise” Tao says placing a hand on Junmyeon’s shoulder.

 

“Yeah lay off him _mom_ he’s just trying to have fun” Jongdae says sarcastically while leaning on the wall “Nothing says fun like a legendary archer from 1376”

 

“About that, should you really be chasing a legend? We can’t confirm he’s even real, he fought a dragon for goodness’ sake” Junmyeon says worried “This seems like a really dangerous mission, we should call this off”

 

“We have a lot of proof though, all the documents that talk about how Peng Yong the archery made shots that should have been impossible. Those arrows found shot into stone artifacts that would have to have been shot with much more force than the bows of the time could have delivered. The dragon story was probably made up as hype but he’s most likely a real person” Minseok explains “If he’s not real then Tao will find out pretty quickly and come back, you forget he’s intensively trained in martial arts. Tao will be fine Junmyeon.”

 

“Tao, you come back the second you find out he isn’t real you hear me?” Junmyeon urges.  

 

“If he isn’t real I’ll be back within two days, if he is real I’ll probably need three weeks” Tao explains taking a step towards the door “I’ll leave now before you try to tie me up and throw me in the basement.”

 

“Don’t give him any ideas!” Jongdae whines.

 

“Safe travels!” Minseok calls to Tao followed by other goodbyes from the other boys before Tao leaves the house to catch his flight to China, he can time travel but it’s easier to get to China in 2018 rather than 1376.

 

“Maybe you should come with me to pick up Chanyeol and Baekhyun, might help you take your mind off things” Minseok suggests kindly while lightly rubbing Junmyeon’s back.

 

“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea” Junmyeon agrees.

 

“Jongdae are you coming?” Minseok asks.

 

“Nah I wanna talk to Jongin and Kyungsoo more” Jongdae answers.

 

~=+•+=~

 

While Minseok and Junmyeon were gone, Jongin decided to show Jongdae what rock music was. The cultural adjustment for Kyungsoo and Jongin wasn’t too bad, they even learned how to use YouTube rather quickly. Which is what led Jongin and Jongdae to have a full out fake concert with all of Jongin’s favourite 90s rock playing on their TV’s YouTube.

 

“Jongdae!” Minseok yells

 

“Oh hey you’re back” Jongdae stops singing to look back at his friend.

 

“What on earth are you doing?” Minseok says loudly over the music “and what is that music?”

 

“It’s rock!” Jongin says proudly “I was showing Jongdae some of my favourite music”

 

“Rock... I hadn’t gotten to that genre of music yet... it’s loud” Minseok says somewhat judgingly  “Could we turn it down now that we have guests?” He says gesturing to Chanyeol and Baekhyun.

 

“Hey, we don’t mind, big time into 90s rock” Chanyeol pipes up.

 

“I think we’ll get along very well, my name’s Jongin and that” Jongin says pointing to Kyungsoo who’s sitting on the couch reading a book “is my roommate Kyungsoo.”

 

“Hi Jongin and Kyungsoo, I’m Chanyeol and this is Baekhyun” Chanyeol introduces.

 

“We’re roommates too, where or when are you two from?” Baekhyun asks.

 

“We’re from Chicago, well I’m a Chicago native, Jongin just came for school, and we’re from 1993” Kyungsoo answers putting his book down and getting up to join the conversation.

 

“You two got to watch friends when it came out? That’s so cool!” Chanyeol says.

 

“What’s friends?” Kyungsoo asks confused.

 

“Chanyeol I think it came out after 1993” Baekhyun says to his friend “it was a really good sitcom, if you get a chance you should watch it, it’s on Netflix”

 

“Junmyeon made me a Netflix account yesterday actually so I’ll check it out” Jongin answers “Tao told us about you two but uhhh I wasn’t really listening to what are your powers?”

 

“Mine is light and Chanyeol doesn’t have one”

 

“Yet!” Chanyeol corrects “and it’s probably fire”

 

“Which is why we are here today!” Minseok says happily “In the backyard we set up a little training station, complete with 3 fire extinguishers just in case”

 

“Oh, is that why you wouldn’t let me in the backyard?” Jongin asks

 

“Yeah! It was a little surprise!” Jongdae joins in “Let’s go! I’m really excited to try to make a tiny storm in a bottle”

 

“Minseok should we get a lightning rod just in case?” Junmyeon asks a little concerned.

 

“Tao had one installed up on the roof actually” Jongdae says “So no worries even though I’m generally skilled enough to not summon a full-sized bolt without meaning to, you forget me and Minseok have been here for almost a year”

 

“Alright well then let’s head out!” Chanyeol says excitedly.

 

“First I’ll go get Sehun from his room” Minseok says “We’ll meet you outside”

 

The boys get to practicing and work very very hard.

 

Sehun practices using small gusts of air to knock cans over. It takes many many tries but he is able to knock just one specific can at a time, even when he moved them very close together.

 

Jongin makes serious progress on his teleportation precision but can’t teleport an object without touching it, no matter how he tries. The apple on the table seems to mock him in its complete stability.  

 

Kyungsoo makes much more controllable fissures and was able to patch them back up. Still working on growing little hills, but did maybe make an ant hill... unless it was already there.

 

Jongdae successfully makes an incredible tempest in a bottle. So he’s happy.

 

Junmyeon plays with water shaping it into various aquatic creatures. He also makes a perfect Tao out of water but can’t hold it long enough for Minseok to freeze it into an ice sculpture. He’s not trying to make water out of the humidity in the air yet, it’s probably best for a different training session.

 

Minseok works on making ice spikes more quickly. He beats his record of 2 minutes to make a one-meter spike, it only took him a minute and a half. Which doesn’t sound like much of an attack but he’s growing the ice from the water in the air so it’s much harder than if he already had water he could just freeze.

 

Baekhyun huddles under a blanket and practices creating light just in his hands but has little to no success. The others encourage him telling him he needs to focus on that feeling he had the first time he did it. He doesn’t really want to feel scared again but there was another feeling that day. A sort of warmth he felt inside, it felt bright if that makes sense. He concentrates hard and swears his hands flicker with some light, just a dull red but it’s there. He thinks he’ll have more luck at night.

 

Chanyeol on the other hand, he can’t get the candle to light. He can’t get any fire at all. He doesn’t even feel any warmth in his hands. He’s really discouraged but the others tell him it’s ok. Once he does it for the first time he’ll be able to do it again with much more ease. He’s starting to think Tao might be wrong, he might just be normal.

 

“Ok well, great work everyone!” Junmyeon says as the sun sets “I’m planning on making some baked ziti for dinner so Chanyeol and Baekhyun if you want to stay over for dinner, you’re more than welcome!”

 

“Sounds amazing!” Chanyeol says, much better than their plan to either eat ramen or order pizza. “Might as well make myself feel better about my failure with good pasta right?”

 

“It’s going to take time Chanyeol! I didn’t do much today either, you’ll do great I’m sure” Baekhyun says while looking at his friend with a bright smile

 

“Thanks, Baekhyunnie” Chanyeol says before going to hug him. After a long moment, Chanyeol lets go “So should we do this same time next week? Baekhyun and I don’t have any exams that day”

 

“Sounds good!” Minseok answers.

 

~=+•+=~

 

_8th of June 2018, Tao’s house, South Korea_

 

“Guys!” Baekhyun yells “I made yellow light! I’m working my way down the spectrum!”

 

“Wait let me see!” Chanyeol says abandoning his still unlit candle and joining Baekhyun under the thick blanket “It’s beautiful!”

 

Chanyeol reaches out to touch the light. The second his finger touches it, it turns into a bright lime green light.

 

“Wow” Chanyeol says in awe “You’re making light!”

 

“No shit Sherlock” Baekhyun says nudging Chanyeol’s arm lightly.

 

“No but like, think about it, it’s really cool” Chanyeol explains, rather badly. The light turns into a beautiful bluish green colour. “Incredible!”

 

“Hey I hate to interrupt your little moment there but we have some news from Tao” Jongin says peeking under the blanket.

 

“Wait really but he’s not supposed to be back for at least another week” Baekhyun says, losing his concentration and the light. They get out from under the blanket “Is he ok? Did he find the guy?”

 

“We’re not sure if he’s ok honestly but yes he found him” Jongin says honestly “We got a text from him and he says he can’t take a flight and wants me to try to go pick them up. He won’t explain why and I mean I’ve never really teleported to a place I’ve never been to so I’m kinda freaking out.”

 

“Nini, take deep breaths ok?” Kyungsoo says pulling Jongin in for a hug “It’s going to be ok, if you don’t succeed, we’ll figure something out, no need to stress out.” Kyungsoo mumbles while they hug.

 

“Here Jongin, I found a google street view of the address Tao sent” Junmyeon says holding out his phone “it might help you to teleport there.”

 

“Thanks Junmyeon hyung” Jongin pulls out of the hug feeling a little calmer, Kyungsoo’s hugs always help him feel better “I think it will help yeah.”

 

Jongin grabs the phone and stares at it intensely.

 

“Jongin you can move the viewpoint with your finger” Junmyeon says before showing him.

 

“Oh, that’s way better” Jongin says spinning the view around “Got to love the future.”

 

Jongin spends a minute spinning the view around trying to create as clear of a mental image as he can.

 

“Well here goes nothing” Jongin says and then vanishes.

 

“Well this sure is nerve-racking” Jongdae says “Do we just wait here and hope for the best or-”

 

“I have them!" A voice calls just inside the living room “Someone get a first aid kit!”

 

A/N: Was Chanyeol’s story lame and not believable? Yes. I can’t write horror ok and also he was making it up. Understand also that it’s super dark, there’s no one around them so it doesn’t really matter what Chanyeol said, Baekhyun would get scared.  

 


	7. Huff n Puff

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huff n Puff is a good song I recommend it, it's by red velvet. Also just to be clear when a character has a thought and it's being narrated, that doesn't mean they are right. Like Tao might think "Clearly he's 23" but that's only his opinion. Just wanted to make that clear because sometimes characters are wrong.

_1st of June 2018, Suzhou, China_

 

After Tao gets off his plane, he starts to get ready for the travel through time. Based on the historical records they have, his best chance to find this Peng Yong is to be near the grand canal and then ask locals for directions to the township Peng Yong supposedly lived in at the time. They still aren’t sure exactly where it was located so Tao hops it won’t take too long to get there from the canal. Tao hopes in a taxi and heads towards the part of the canal they are sure had a village surrounding it.

 

Once near the canal, Tao finds a local restroom and gets changed into some time appropriate clothes, at least he hopes. Minseok informed him he wasn’t properly dressed for the Joseon era and readies his bag. Inside he has some paper money that is perfectly replicated from the ones archaeologists found from this period of time, as well as some silver, other trade goods, some water and food. He decides to have one last hamburger before his trip.

 

Once he finishes eating he finds a small dense patch of trees to hide in. Once he’s absolutely sure no one can see him he closes his eyes and concentrates on the year he wants to travel to, not just the year but the culture as well. He’s not sure if that part is necessary, just picturing the number 1993 did bring him to that year but better safe than sorry. Before even opening his eyes he can feel the difference, it’s colder and it smells very very different. When he opens them he’s relieved to see he didn’t end up anywhere public, he’s still in a patch of trees. Tao makes his way to a nearby building.

 

“Good afternoon sir,” Tao says greeting the merchant, praying he speaks Mandarin, his Cantonese is rusty and he doesn’t know any other Chinese languages.

 

“Good afternoon” the man responds “Is there something I can do for you?”

 

“Thank god” Tao mumbles under his breath, the accent is very different but understandable “Have you seen Peng Yong?”

 

“Not personally, but I heard he might be in a nearby village” the merchant answers “maybe if you bought a painting I could be of more service.”

 

Bribery, always a recurring theme in any economy. Luckily Tao could afford it and why not gift the archer a lovely painting of a... cow? Wait no, a dragon, seems fitting enough.

 

“Deal!” Tao agrees. The merchant tilts his head in confusion, right that expression might not have been commonly used at the time “I mean, I agree.”

 

Tao pays the merchant, rolls the painting and starts walking in the direction he was instructed. After many hours of walking the sun starts setting and Tao regrets not buying some sort of tent or horse in the village. Finally, he spots a small community, whether Peng Yong is there or not, Tao certainly needs somewhere to spend the night.

 

“Good evening, is there someplace in your lovely village I could spend the night?” Tao asks a young man who was sitting on his front step sharpening an iron arrowhead.

 

“Depends” the man says continuing his task “How much money do you have?”

 

“I have some to spare and a dragon painting you might enjoy” Tao says trying not to give away how much he has, he’s not entirely sure this man won’t rob him.

 

“May I see the painting?” the man asks putting down his arrowhead.

 

Tao unrolls the painting and shows the man. The man smirks, looking pleased with it.

 

“Alright I have a spare bed you can use” the man says grabbing his arrowhead and walking into his house.

 

“Are you interested in archery?” Tao says seeing the pile of arrowheads the man has in his house.

 

“You could say that” he says adding his arrowhead to the pile “I sharpen these for the military, I used to be an archer but I decided it would be best to retire and live here instead. I think it’s better for the country this way.”

 

“Were you not good?” Tao asks. If this guy was an archer he might know Peng Yong, it’s a stretch but he might as well try. The man ignores his question, probably a touchy subject.

 

“Your bed is here” he says, pointing to the blankets.

 

“Thank you” Tao says bowing.

 

“Yeah well meals aren’t included you’ll have to pay for them as well” he says with a little snark before getting into his own bed.

 

~=+•+=~

 

Tao’s awoke by a terrible scraping noise before remembers where he is. Right, arrow sharpener.  

 

“Look who finally woke up, waking late isn’t an attractive trait you know” the man says judgingly. Tao’s really getting tired of his comments. “What’s your name anyways, you never introduced yourself”

 

“My name is Huang Zitao, but you can call me Tao” Tao answers honestly, no need to lie since they are used to Chinese names.

 

“I’m...” the man pauses, clearly thinking of a fake name “Wu Xian” Nice to see the honesty was reciprocated.

 

“Well Xian, I was wondering if you had seen Peng Yong?” Tao asks.

 

“Peng Yong? Name seems familiar, who is he?” Xian asks.

 

“He’s an archer, a legendary one” Tao answers “Maybe you heard about him while you were an archer?”

 

“Legendary huh?” Xian smiles “Sounds like a story you use to inspire young men to fight”

 

“Everyone seems to think he’s real...” Tao says a little disappointed he might be here for nothing “Are you sure you don’t know him?”

 

“Not under that name if at all” Xian responds “I could help you look for him if you want, if I finish sharpening this pile I’ll be free for a couple of days and I could use an adventure.”

 

“That sounds like a great plan!” Tao says excitedly, with a guide this mission is much easier.

 

~=+•+=~

 

“Last one, done!” Tao announces placing the recently sharpened arrow in the pile.

 

“Only took us two days, which means I’ll have a whole week for this adventure of yours” Xian smiles “I’ll pack a bag and we can go”

 

Tao waits patiently for Xian to return with his bag.

 

“I know a village a day’s walk from here that has a lot of people who used to be in the army, it’s probably the best place to start our search” Xian suggests

 

“Sure, let’s go there” Tao agrees.

 

The walk is rather long but the two talk the whole time. Tao learns that Xian wanted to be a scholar but couldn’t pass the tests, he isn’t good at memorization. Tao tries to share his own stories but modified to fit with this time, it’s not easy but it feels good to talk to someone, to make a friend. Even though it’s only been 4 days, he’s never felt farther from his friends at home, Minseok, Jongdae, Sehun but mostly Junmyeon, he’s not sure why. Maybe because they were the closest? Because they are the only ones who have seen what happens after 2018? The reason seems irrelevant, he misses him and that’s all that matters. Talking to Xian is a good way to forget though.

 

“That’s it!” Xian exclaims “That’s the village!”

 

“It’s rather small, looks more like a military camp...” Tao says looking at the weapons the men are holding, the lack of women is also a giveaway.

 

“Huh? Oh I guess you could call it that” Xian says “I’ll go talk to them for a minute just wait here”

 

Tao does as he’s told though he finds it suspicious, first a clearly fake name, now this? What was Xian hiding? Xian walks back towards Tao.

 

“I got us a place to stay for the night! We can ask them about... who was it Pong Yeng?” Xian asks.

 

“Peng Yong” Tao corrects.

 

“Whatever, let’s sleep I’m exhausted” Xian says pulling Tao into their yurt. “Well goodnight we have another long walk tomorrow”

 

“We haven’t even asked them about the archer yet” Tao mumbles getting into bed.

 

“Right... well I mean he’s probably not here so we’ll have to leave anyways.” He says before closing his eyes and going to sleep.

 

There was something very strange about Xian.

 

~=+•+=~

 

“Tao!” Xian says shaking Tao to wake him “I asked around, no one’s heard of him but I know where we should go next, it’s a two-day trip so we’ll have to take sleeping rotations tonight but it’s our best lead”

 

“No one had heard of him at all?” Tao asks not believing him at all “Not a single person?”

 

“Nope! Weird huh?” Xian asks.

 

“There’s definitely something weird about you, that’s for sure” Tao says switching to Korean so Xian won’t understand.

 

“What was that?” Xian asks confused.

 

“Oh nothing, expression from my village” Tao shrugs.

 

The boys walk all day, there’s a lot less talking probably due to the fact Tao doesn’t trust Xian much anymore. Once the sun sets they find a tree to sleep under.

 

“I’ll take first shift” Xian volunteers.

 

Tao accepts and tries to fall asleep.

 

He’s awoken when he hears strange noises. When he opens his eyes he sees a large rock hovering above him. He quickly rolls out of the way and jumps to his feet realizing what happened. He was right to be suspicious of Xian, looks like he’s found the legendary archer with... telekinetic powers? Without thinking, Tao dives for his bag and grabs the nunchucks he had hidden in it.

 

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you Yong” Tao says looking at the rock “You have no idea who you’re up against” Tao threatens, he won’t hurt him badly but he will fight.

 

“I know exactly who you are” Yong spits “Mongol”  

 

“What?” Tao says ducking the rock being thrown at his head “I’m not a Mongol”

 

“You may have learned Mandarin but your accent and manners give it away” Yong yells levitating another rock and launching it.

 

“Oh” Tao says dumbly “I can explain!”

 

“No need!” Yong yells using his power again to throw projectiles at Tao “I may not have a bow but I can still kill you”

 

“That’s really not necessary” Tao says before switching out his nunchucks for a rope and running towards Peng Yong. For an archer, he’s quite competent in hand to hand combat, but Tao is of course much much better and has him restrained in under a minute. He makes sure to bind his hands with extra rope to prevent him from using powers.

 

“Now” Tao starts before sitting on the ground in front of Yong “Let’s have a civil conversation, shall we?”

 

“I don’t speak to Mongols” Yong yells.

 

“Right well that’s fine since I’m not one” Tao says calmly “I’m Chinese, but I’m from the future”

 

“Why should I believe that?” Yong asks in a rude tone.

 

“What so you can control things telekinetically but time travelling isn’t possible?’ Tao asks sarcastically.

 

“If you want me to believe you, you should stop speaking in your mother tongue”

 

“I’m not speaking... whatever the Mongols speak, I’m speaking Mandarin! Just a future variant... what I meant was you can control things with your thoughts” Tao says getting frustrated.

 

“You are right, that is what I’m doing” Yong confirms “If you are truly from the future, prove it!”

 

“You guys always ask for proof it’s getting old” Tao mumbles “Ok I’ll prove it”

 

Tao gets up and grabs an apple he had in his bag from before he came to this time.

 

“I have the power of time” Tao explains “Which means I can also do this” Tao says rapidly ageing the apple he was holding till it’s all shrivelled.

 

“How does that prove you are from the future though” Yong says “Maybe you just have the power of death.”

 

“You’re an irritating one” Tao sighs “You know what fine I don’t need your trust right now. If you want me to prove it some other way I’ll do it.”

 

“Then I might have a proposition” Yong smirks “You help me fight the dragon with your time powers and I’ll believe you.”

 

“Fine whatever” Tao says “Promise not to try to kill me again and I’ll let you go.”

 

“Promised”

~=+•+=~

 

“Why do we need so many weapons?” Tao asks holding two swords and a crossbow.

 

“I told you we were going to fight a dragon” Yong says cocking his head “We need to be prepared”

 

“But- I thought you meant a figurative dragon or someone named dragon?” Tao says confused “Dragons don’t exist. Unless you mean the one that has deadly spit or the tiny bearded one”

 

“Non-believer huh?” Yong smiles “Trust me, I’ve seen the beast, it’s very much real.”

 

“Ok...” Tao says still confused as to how Yong could think he’s seen a dragon “How will we find it?”

 

“I think it stays near a certain mountain range” Yong explains “Now let’s go suit up, I have armor you can borrow, you seem about the same size.”

 

“I’m at least 5cm taller but thanks” Tao mumbles under his breath “For a retired archer you sure have a lot of equipment in your house.”

 

“You never know when you’ll be needed in battle” Yong shrugs.

 

Tao puts on Yong’s armor, luckily it isn’t that small on him and he’s able to move around without having his movement restricted too much. With the primitive amour on and the weapon in his hand, Tao starts wondering if this is a good idea or if he might end up dead. Whatever this dragon is, it seems like it’s really dangerous according to Yong.

 

“Let’s head to the stables” Yong says once he’s suited up.

 

“Stables?” Tao asks “You have horses?”

 

“Well yeah” Yong smiles “I’m still of the Shi class even if I currently live as Gong”

 

Tao has no idea what that means, he should have paid closer attention in history class, but he assumes it means he’s well off.

 

The two make it to the stables, which were in a town over and took a considerable walk to get to. Yong speaks to the workers and waits a few minutes the workers bring out two beautiful horses already equipped with their tack.

 

“So you just had these horses the whole time and yet we’ve been walking for the past 2 days?”

 

“Why should I let a stranger ride Pin or Yin?” Yong asks rhetorically.

 

“Wait, you named your horses Pin and Yin?” Tao asks skeptically.

 

“Is there something wrong with that?” Yong asks confused.

 

“Well no it’s just-” Tao starts “well in the future it’s the name for a kind of Chinese alphabet, well not really an alphabet but-”

 

“That seems silly” Yong dismisses “Anyways you can ride Pin, she’s nicer towards strangers”

 

Tao struggles to get on the horse whereas Yong gets on easily.

 

“You’re really incapable to do basic things aren’t you” Yong mocks “I should have picked someone else”

 

“Hey! This armor is heavy I’m not used to it!” Tao whines “Plus these shoes are slippery”

 

“Sure” Yong says signalling his horse to start trotting.

 

 ~=+•+=~

 

They spend the rest of the day riding in the direction of the mountain range Yong was talking about. When the sun starts to set they decide to stop to sleep for the night. Tao is glad because his legs are really starting to hurt if Yong is feeling the same way he’s sure not showing it.

 

“I can take first watch” Yong says, Tao cocks an eyebrow “I won’t try to kill you this time”

 

“How can I trust that Yong?” Tao asks, mostly playfully.

 

“What’s your other option?” Yong laughs.

 

“I could take Pin and ride into the distance” Tao says pointing to the horse.

 

“That’s Yin and good luck, she’s very loyal to me” Yong smiles before sitting on the ground beside Tao. “Before you sleep would you mind telling me about the future”

 

“I would but unless you want to come with me I can’t risk leaving you with that information” Tao explains “You can come if you want though” Tao doesn’t want to pressure him and it would be best to talk about the mission when they know each other better.

 

“I’ll think about it, if we survive the dragon that is” Yong says still smiling “Could you tell me a bit more about your life in the future then? Without any dangerous details”

 

“Honestly everything I told you already was my life in the future” Tao explains.

 

“So the person you miss, the one from your childhood village? They are real?” Yong asks curiously.

 

“Oh well yes, the person is real but Junmyeon’s not from my village, it’s hard to explain... We live together” Tao tries to explain hoping the cultural difference won’t make them sound weird.

 

“So you married this Jun Mian? That’s why you miss them?” Yong asks pronouncing Junmyeon with a heavy accent “and don’t worry, I don’t judge, I’m part of the movement”

 

“No, no we are friends” Tao is quick to correct “Wait movement? I wasn’t aware of that kind of movement at this time period”

 

“Sure there is! People should marry whoever they want, marriage isn’t just for goods or familial gain. It’s for love too” Yong explains “I can’t imagine marrying someone I don’t know”

 

“Oh you meant-” Tao starts without wanting to say more. The movement to marry for love, not for gay marriage, of course. “I agree, marriage should be for those you care about and want to spend all your days with, someone you miss and always want to be near.”

 

“Seems you have someone in mind” Yong nudges “What’s stopping you?”

 

“I don’t know, it’s a tough situation,” Tao says “Honestly I’m not sure the feeling is reciprocated”

 

It feels nice to open up about his feelings, he hadn’t felt close enough with anyone he was sure wasn’t well... homophobic. Minseok and Jongdae are amazing people but they don’t exactly come from a progressive time and he’s never wanted to approach the subject directly. The only one he knows won’t judge him is Junmyeon, but he can’t exactly talk to him...

 

“I’m sure it will work out” Yong says soothingly “Jun Mian will be lucky to marry a man like you”

 

“I didn’t say it was-” Tao says before being cut off

 

“Can I tell you a secret?” Yong asks “Since we’re sharing things”

 

“Sure” Tao says intrigued  

 

“My name isn’t really Peng Yong” he says “It’s Luhan, I used a different name as a sort of title? It doesn’t really make sense but I thought it was at least more threatening than a name that means deer”

 

“It’s like a stage name” Tao confirms “I get it, so should I call you Han then?”

 

“No, I prefer Luhan” Luhan explains “It’s good to get that off my chest, anyways good night!”

 

Tao finds a little difficulty falling asleep with all the new information. Peng Yong’s real name being Luhan but mostly finally admitting his feelings for Junmyeon. He hadn’t fully accepted them himself till this trip and to confide them to someone was a whole other thing. He’s wondering if that was really a good idea his Luhan might end up meeting Junmyeon. When Tao finally calms his thoughts he sleeps rather soundly. In fact, even with alternating sleep watches, both boys sleep very well. Since Tao has the last shift before dawn, he’s finally not getting shamed by Luhan for ‘sleeping in’.

 

With just a few more hours of riding the two arrive at the mountain range. They disembark their horses and approach on foot. According to Luhan, the horses act unpredictably when they see a dragon and it would be dangerous for their riders.

 

“So should we sit and wait or-” Tao asks before seeing something in the sky “HOLY SHIT!”

 

“I assume that’s future speak for some sort of profanity?” Luhan asks casually as if a mythical creature wasn’t flying above their heads.

 

“THERE’S A DRAGON” Tao yells stating the obvious “A REAL DRAGON”

 

“Yes there is so stop yelling and start shooting” Luhan says handing Tao a crossbow “I assume you know how to shoot a crossbow?”

 

“Just point and shoot?” Tao asks.

 

“Useless” Luhan mutters loudly “Yeah sure try that it might work.”

 

The two shoot at the huge dragon, Luhan hits it almost every time, Tao hits it once and he’s proud. Even with crossbow bolts being shot into it, the dragon doesn’t seem to be weakened. That is until Tao hits its foot, the dragon screams an awful noise before going to land on the grass in front of the boys.

 

“Who knew a dragon’s weak spot was its foot” Luhan says happily “Being a bad shot actually helped you”

 

“Yeah yeah, what’s the plan now?” Tao asks terrified that the dragon was going to be this close to them. Also a little sad he hurt the beast, he knows it’s a terrible dragon but it seemed to be in real pain.  

 

“We approach it and I guess cut its feet since that seems to work” Luhan says putting down his bow and picking up the sword, Tao does the same.

 

As they walk towards it, the dragon screams louder in pain. Almost looking like it was trying to hold its foot. They walk closer to the beast before it screams louder than ever. Tao and Luhan are forced to drop their swords and clutch their ears. When Tao let’s go of his ears he sees Luhan running towards the dragon. Luhan gets hit by the dragon's tail and is sent flying.

 

“Luhan!” Tao yells looking for where Luhan landed.

 

“I’m ok! Just get the dragon” Luhan yells back.  

 

Tao looks back where the dragon was but it’s gone. He looks up in the sky and the mountains but nothing catches his eye. While looking at different indents in the mountains he hears a noise. Almost a whimper?

 

“It sounds like a kid crying” Tao says running toward the source of the sound.

 

“Wait Tao!” Luhan says staying where he is on the ground “It could be the dragon’s trick!”

 

Tao runs through the tall plants till he sees a young boy sobbing curled in a ball.

 

“Luhan come quick!” Tao yells “I need help!”

 

Tao inspects the area a little longer for any danger before approaching the boy. The boy seems to be covered in little scratches but nothing that would hurt more than a paper cut.

 

“Are you alright?” Tao asks hoping this child speaks Mandarin. He gets no response and tries it in Cantonese just in case.

 

“It hurts!” The kid yells in Cantonese. Thank God for multilingualism.

 

“What hurts?” Tao asks the child trying to stay calm.

 

“My f-foot!” he yells back “T-take it o-out!”

 

Tao looks over at the child’s foot. There’s a crossbow bolt in it. Did one of Tao’s missed arrows hit this kid?

 

“Ahhhh!” The kid cries “Y-you shot me!”

 

So Tao’s arrow did shoot him, unless...

 

“Are you the dragon?” Tao asks.

 

“Who c-cares!” The kid yells while crying “You shot m-me! You h-have t-to h-help!”

 

Before Tao can respond he realizes what he has to do, he has to get the kid to a hospital right away. He thinks hard about a clean modern hospital and holds the kid’s hand. He feels the hand disappear and hopes what he did will help the kid.

 

Tao makes his way back to Luhan who was still in the grass where he landed, so much for helping him with the kid.

 

“Did you kill the dragon?” Luhan asks grunting while sitting up.

 

“No I sent him to the future, he was just a kid and he was hurt-”

 

“You let a dragon, a village burning dragon loose in the future alone?” Luhan almost yells “So can we go there too? We need to save whatever town he’ll end up in!”

 

“No, I have no idea where he went” Tao says disappointed, the kid was all alone he really should have gotten Luhan and gone with him, how is he going to get to a hospital alone? He did not think this through.

 

“L-like I said useless” Luhan says clearly in pain.

 

“Are you ok?” Tao asks dumbly.

 

“His t-tail had s-spikes” Luhan explains “I’ll b-be ok I’m sure.”

 

“You will but not here, not now” Tao says grabbing Luhan’s hand and thinks hard about 2018.

 

“What are you doing!?” Luhan exclaims before his surrounding change completely.

 

_8th of June 2018, Huangshan Mountain, China_

 

“Welcome to the future”

 


	8. Wikihow: How to Light a Flame (With Pictures)

_8th of June 2018, Tao’s house, South Korea_

 

“I have them!" A voice calls just inside the living room “Someone get a first aid kit!”

 

“Shit!” Junmyeon yells before running to get the kit from the kitchen.

 

Everyone else runs into the living room. Tao is dressed in full armor sitting on the ground with a man laying on his legs. The man has a serious gash in his armor and seems to have a long but somewhat shallow cut across his chest.

 

“This is Luhan, he was attacked by a dragon but it’s just this one cut” Tao explains “I can’t take him to the hospital without ID so let’s do what we can for now”

 

“A dragon?” Chanyeol asks confused “You sure you two don’t need an MRI?”

 

“I have it!” Junmyeon says while jogging in the room “Tao are you ok?”

 

“Yeah, I’m fine it’s for Luhan here” Tao says gesturing towards the cut on Luhan’s chest.

 

“Oh I see” Junmyeon says keeping his calm “Luhan you’re going to be just fine, can I remove your armor and shirt?”

 

“W-what’s he saying? Where are we n-now?” Luhan says panicked in Mandarin.

 

“Luhan calm down, we’re at my house” Tao explains “Can you just take deep breaths? He’s going to tend to your wounds”

 

“Is he a healer?” Luhan asks starting to calm down, taking deep breaths as instructed.

 

“Yes, in a way he is” Tao explains, CPR certified and equipped with a first aid kit counts as a healer, right? “He needs to take off your armor and shirt, is that ok?”

 

“Yes” Luhan says clearly, wanting the healing process sped up. “Whatever he needs, he can do”

 

“My Mandarin is limited but I heard yes” Junmyeon says to tao “He’s ok with this?”

 

“Yes, he says you can do whatever as long as you heal him” Tao explains.

 

“Ok well, I think it’s best not to crowd him” Junmyeon says reaching for Luhan’s armor “Guys do you mind hanging out in the kitchen? Not Tao though, I need a translator.”

 

Tao and Junmyeon make a good team. They take the armor off with little difficulty and calm Luhan down quite a bit.

 

“Can someone get some water and a large bowl?” Junmyeon yells to the boys in the kitchen.

 

“Got it!” Chanyeol yells back.

 

“We’re just going to clean the cut ok? It might sting a bit” Junmyeon says to Luhan, Tao of course translates.

 

“Here you go” Chanyeol says handing him the bowl and a 5L bottle of distilled water “Is this good?”

 

“It’s perfect thank you!” Junmyeon replies making Chanyeol smile. “You have distilled water?” he asks Tao.

 

“I prefer the taste” Tao replies shrugging.

 

After the cut is cleaned Junmyeon wraps the cut, really more like Luhan’s whole chest in gauze and bandages.

 

“There” Junmyeon says “We are done for now I think, he should probably have it checked by a doctor just in case but it’s not too deep so if we change his bandages every day he should be ok. We’ll monitor him for signs of internal bleeding too but he doesn’t have any symptoms right now”

 

“Thanks Junmyeon” Tao says going to hug his friend “I was really stressed.”

 

“We can talk about it tonight” Junmyeon says wiggling out of the hug “but for now Luhan should really get into bed and get some rest. He might also have some, maybe a few thousand, questions” Junmyeon laughs

 

“Good point”

 

“Tao?” Junmyeon asks “before you go, do you mind telling me what happened?”

“He was attacked by a panicked dragon” Tao explains. Junmyeon opens his mouth with a confused expression on his face but gets cut off “I know dragons aren’t real but neither is the power to control water. I saw this dragon and he was very real, I think it was someone with shape-shifting powers.”

 

“I’m extremely intrigued but” Junmyeon sighs forcing himself to not ask any more questions “You should go help Luhan.”

 

~=+•+=~

 

“Junmyeon?” Tao says creeping into the living room where Junmyeon was watching a movie.

 

“Yes?” Junmyeon says pausing the movie before turning around to face Tao “Oh Tao! Is Luhan finally sleeping?”

 

“Yeah” Tao says walking towards the sofa “I answered a lot of questions, I’m sure he has more but I didn’t want to overwhelm him.”

 

“How about you?” Junmyeon asks “Are you feeling overwhelmed?”

 

“A bit?” Tao says honestly snuggling into Junmyeon’s arms, he really missed this. It’s so comforting, he feels he’s safe and loved. “Can I tell you the whole story? It’s kinda long.”

 

“Of course, I’m pretty curious” Junmyeon says softly while smiling. “What with the limited details I got on this ‘dragon’.”

 

Tao tells Junmyeon every detail, every emotion he felt during the trip. It feels so good to vent it all out. Naturally, he leaves all the parts about how much he missed Junmyeon and how he sort of told Luhan about his crush but he tells him about everything else.

 

“So you don’t know where the dragon boy is?” Junmyeon asks.

 

“No” Tao sighs “Obviously he didn’t cause much trouble since we’ve never heard of a dragon attack. I just hope he somehow made it to a hospital or even a walk-in clinic.”

 

“I’m sure he’s fine” Junmyeon says trying to comfort his friend “Do you have a plan for what to do next?”

 

“Well” Tao says “I’d like to go look for the dragon but I’m not sure where to start. Before that, I should head to my future to get Luhan some ID like I did with the rest of you. I’ll also beg the government to let me bring a translator. It would be nice if Luhan could communicate with all of you directly.”

 

“Just make sure you rest too ok? All this travel has to be hard on you” Junmyeon says.

 

“I will” Tao says looking up at Junmyeon “I won’t travel till I feel fully rested.”

 

“As for the dragon hunting, I have an idea” Junmyeon proposes.

 

“I’m all ears”

 

“That would look silly wouldn’t it?” Junmyeon laughs, terrible jokes are of course his specialty. “Well, you said you thought of a modern hospital, maybe visit times where historic hospitals were built.”

 

“That makes sense” Tao nods “Certainly better than nothing. I really want to make sure he’s ok, I feel awful.”

 

“You did what you could, it was a stressful situation and you didn’t have nearly as much information as you do now” Junmyeon says “I think you made the best decision you could.”

 

“I’m not sure I agree” Tao frowns “but thank you, you always know how to make me feel way better”

 

“I’m not studying sociology for nothing” Junmyeon laughs “but that’s what friends are for.”

 

“Right,” Tao pauses “Friends.”

 

~=+•+=~

 

_15th of June 2018, Tao’s house, South Korea_

 

“Hey guys we’re back” Baekhyun says greeting everyone “And we’re officially done with exams!”

 

“Excuse me?” Chanyeol says.

 

“Oh right” Baekhyun says dropping his smiling “Chanyeol still has dumb bio exams.”

 

“Does that mean you guys are moving in soon?” Jongin says excitedly.

 

“Yeah, probably next Friday? We are doing training Fridays right?” Chanyeol asks.

 

“Well honestly we do it most days, but your school is just finishing so it’s ok!” Jongin says smiling.

 

“Great so I’m even more behind than I thought” Chanyeol sighs.

 

“You’ll do fine Chanyeol, you just need to put less pressure on yourself” Minseok says to comfort him “Ready to try to light a candle again?”

 

“Yeah let’s go! I want to make white light this time!” Baekhyun says excitedly before scanning the crowd “Where’s Tao?”

 

“He’s off on his second trip to find the dragon” Kyungsoo explains “The first one didn’t work out too well...”

 

“He’ll probably be back soon” Jongdae pipes in.

 

“Is Luhan better?” Chanyeol asks, he hasn’t been hearing many details since he’s been studying pretty intensely, this practice is a very needed break.

 

“He’s... well he’s used to his translator finally” Junmyeon explains “He doesn’t try to take the patch off neck anymore. Which is good because pulling a neural patch off like that, even just a translating one can be damaging to the nervous system. However, he still doesn’t really like talking to us, he mostly stays in his room. His cut is healing well though, the doctor said all it needs is some the bandages no stitches required or anything!”

 

“He’s actually acclimatizing to the future faster than I did though” Minseok says “and I was really excited about the future. It’s really hard to explain how uncomfortable it is to live somewhere so alien, even if you mentally want to, deep down you’re scared of almost everything.”

 

“He didn’t even get a choice right?” Baekhyun asks “I hope he feels more comfortable soon, for his sake.”

 

“Well now that we’ve covered all the news” Jongdae says starting to walk to the back door “Let’s go practice!”

 

~=+•+=~

 

“And fire!” Chanyeol mumbles at the candle making a sort of Spider-man hand movement to accompany it. “And again. No fire. At all.”

 

He stares at the candle a little longer before deciding to ask his friend for help.  

 

“Baekhyun!” Chanyeol yells “Can you help me!”

 

“Huh?” Baekhyun says looking outside his blanket with very very messy and [ staticky hair ](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/21/89/cb/2189cbb9782819f607c2de1d932180ef.jpg). “Oh sure” Baekhyun walks over to Chanyeol and bows.

 

“At your service young prince” Baekhyun jokes.

 

“What are you a jester?” Chanyeol laughs patting down Baekhyun’s silly looking hair.

 

“Oh” Baekhyun says embarrassed, cheeks heating up “Thanks.”

 

“So noble jester Baekhyun, what should I do?” Chanyeol asks “Any tips?”

 

“Try thinking warm thoughts?” Baekhyun encourages.

 

“What does that even mean?” Chanyeol laughs “like a hot cocoa in the winter?”

 

“No... well maybe I don’t know, it’s just when I summon light I have this feeling in me, it’s really bright and pure like light. So I imagine your feeling would be warm and strong like a fire” Baekhyun explains “Maybe think back to any memories you have where you felt warm or strong?”

 

“There was this one Christmas where I was with my family and we were playing a game and I won so I felt powerful and also warm because I was happy to be with my family” Chanyeol explains “Do you think that could work?”

 

“Worth a try” Baekhyun answers.

 

Chanyeol closes his eyes and concentrates hard on that memory. He relives in his head his winning moment and his sister congratulating him afterwards. The memory brings a smile to his face. He opens his eyes and looks at the candle. It’s still unlit.

 

“I failed again” Chanyeol sighs.

 

“Cheer up Chanyeollie! You’ll get it soon I’m sure” Baekhyun says before going up on his tippy-toes and kissing Chanyeol’s cheek “I believe in you.”

 

Baekhyun walks back to his station leaving a blushing Chanyeol alone.

 

“Chanyeol-” Junmyeon starts.

 

“It’s not what you think! He was just-” Chanyeol starts before turning around to face Junmyeon.

 

“Your candle” Junmyeon says pointing at the now lit candle.

 

“Oh my god! I did it!” Chanyeol yells “I lit the candle! I am a fire bender!”

 

“Congrats dude!” Jongdae says seeing the candle.

 

“I think Tao’s back” Sehun announces to the group.

 

Sehun, Junmyeon and Chanyeol all go in the house to check up with the time traveller.

 

“So how did it go?” Sehun asks softly. “Did you find him?”

 

“He wasn’t there” Tao sighs angrily.  

 

“That’s ok, there’s always next time” Junmyeon says rubbing Tao’s back “Chanyeol has something he wants to tell you though.”

 

“Tao I did it! I lit a candle!” Chanyeol shares enthusiastically.

 

“Yeah that’s great Chanyeol you can effectively replace a match wow” Tao says extremely out of character. Chanyeol’s face falls.

 

“Tao can speak to you alone?” Junmyeon says moving his hand softly to Tao’s upper arm. They leave the living room and move into the dining room.

 

“I understand losing the dragon has made you very stressed but you can’t it out on Chanyeol” Junmyeon says keeping his tone calm but stern.

 

“It’s just- He was so young you know and you didn’t see how scared he was. He had a crossbow bolt in his foot!” Tao says starting to break down a bit “I lost him Junmyeon! It was my fault and I can’t find him!”

 

“Tao calm down, you’ll find him I know it” Junmyeon says rubbing circles on Tao’s back “I know it’s stressful to fail so many times but that doesn’t mean you won’t succeed. I think what you really need is a win.”

 

Tao looks up at Junmyeon confused.

 

“Remember the doctor in England during the plague you wanted to look into? I think after you go get him and bring him back you’ll feel better” Junmyeon suggests “It’s not like finding the dragon is a time-sensitive thing, you have the power of time.” Junmyeon smiles.

 

“I think you’re right” Tao nods “I should really apologize to Chanyeol.”

 

“Yes you should the poor boy was so excited, I’ve never seen a 20-year-old man look more like a 6-year-old in my life and I’m living with Minseok.”

 

~=+•+=~

 

_20th of June 2018, Tao’s house, South Korea_

 

Luhan looks up at his ceiling. He’s been looking at the same ceiling for 12 days but it still feels unfamiliar. Everything in this house does, aside from some of the pottery. There’s so much light, such huge glass windows, all the furnishing is foreign to him. He’s slowly gotten used to it but he still feels a little out of place. He heard from Tao two people in the house came from a time similar to his. He does want to talk to them but he feels rather uncomfortable around his housemates. They are very... enthusiastic? Some seem rude and others are just plain loud. They also all get along well and it feels like he’s intruding. Today though, he decides he’s going to talk to them. He has to at some point and why not today? Maybe it will even make him feel more comfortable. It’s wishful thinking but he hopes he’s right.

 

He makes his way down the stairs and heads towards the kitchen, which along with his room, is the only place he knows how to find. He’s surprised to see someone sitting at the... what’s the word? Breakfast nook right.

 

“Luhan?” The man says “I can leave if you want to eat alone.”

 

“No! That’s ok” Luhan is quick to say “I wanted to talk to someone today.”

 

“Oh well, in that case, I’m Jongdae” Jongdae says smiling “What do you want to talk about?”

 

“Could you tell me where you’re from?” Luhan asks.

 

“Sure!” Jongdae says “I was from the Joseon era of Korea which was I think just 100 years after yours? We probably lived similarly, well not really since I was a prince-”

 

“You are a prince?” Luhan says shocked.

 

“Well, yes not an heir though” Jongdae explains “I didn’t like it though, never really saw myself as a prince so I’m much happier here, being just your average person... with lightning powers.”

 

“How long have you been here?” Luhan asks again feeling more comfortable.

 

“I think it’s been about a year?” Jongdae says pensively.

 

“How did you adjust to all” Luhan says gesturing around him “this.”

 

“It took some time but I think it helped when I stopped trying to compare it to home” Jongdae explains “When I just viewed it as another way of life it seemed more normal, different but I stopped seeing it as some sort of other dimension”

 

“I’ll try to keep that in mind” Luhan says nodding.

 

“But enough about me!” Jongdae announces “Would you like a tour of the house?”

 

“Oh, Tao already did that for me” Luhan says sadly to let his new friend down.

 

“Yes but this will be a tour through the eyes of a Joseon prince” Jongdae smiles “I think a different perspective might help. Tao is wonderful but he’s really bad at explaining things, in my opinion anyways.”

 

“A lot of things in this house are for washing things” Jongdae explains “They do it exactly like how we do it but it’s just a machine that does it. For example, the dishwasher cleans dishes with soap and water, just like humans would”

 

“Ok, that makes sense” Luhan says “Is there something else in here that’s like what we have at home?”

 

“Yeah tons of stuff! It just looks different, but it’s really just the same” Jongdae explains getting off the stool and walking towards the oven “This is called an oven and cooks food by getting hot, that’s all! The top part here is called a stove and it also just cooks stuff by getting hot but you use a pot or pan or wok to do the cooking.”

 

“Oh well that’s simple then”

 

“It is! This thing though...” Jongdae says looking at the microwave “Minseok understands it but I don’t, he says it doesn’t get hot? But I swear it does, bottom line is it gets food hot faster than the oven. No metal or plastic allowed though. Again I don’t know why but follow the rule. Apparently, it will explode if you don’t.”

 

“That’s weird...”

 

The boys go through the whole house like that only being interrupted a few times by people wanting to know if Luhan is feeling better. He definitely is, talking to Jongdae was a really great idea. They also introduced themselves and he got to learn more about the people he lives with.

 

“Luhan?” Junmyeon asks while folding some laundry “Why are you two in the laundry room?”

 

“I wanted to explain how we clean clothes!” Jongdae says “it’s our next stop on our house tour”

 

“It’s kind of a boring stop, there’s just the laundry stuff and a little sitting area but” Junmyeon says putting down the towel he was folding “welcome, I’m Junmyeon”

 

“Junmyeon? Your name sounds familiar...” Luhan says thinking hard, he’s heard it before.

 

“Well I was the one who bandaged your cut but you were a little out of it that day, fighting a dragon will do that to you. I assume anyways.” Junmyeon smiles.

 

“I don’t think I thanked you for that!” Luhan says feeling a bit ashamed for the overdue thanks “So thank you very much!”

 

“It’s was no trouble at all” Junmyeon smiles.

 

“So anyways this is the washer...”

 

Luhan doesn’t really listen to Jongdae, he’s more focused on trying to figure out where he’s heard that name before. He’s sure it wasn’t in 2018 but it doesn’t make sense that he’d have heard it before then... unless Tao mentioned him?

 

“Ok well that’s everything in this room, let’s move on to the living room” Jongdae says walking up the stairs, back to the main floor “Luhan?”

 

“Huh? Oh yeah of course” Luhan says snapping out of his thoughts “To the uhhh”

 

“Living room” Jongdae repeats “It’s a room we didn’t really where I’m from, I’m sure you didn’t either, so don’t worry if you forget the name”

 

As they walk out of the small basement Luhan finally remembers. Jun Mian or the way they pronounce it, Junmyeon, was the person Tao kept talking about, the one he has feelings for. Was that right? Junmyeon is a man though, isn’t he? Maybe he should ask.

 

“Is Junmyeon a man?” Luhan asks.

 

“Yes? That’s an odd question, did he not look like one to you?” Jongdae asks confused.

  
“No, he did it’s just...” Luhan says still puzzled “Does Tao know a female Junmyeon?”

 

“I don’t think so unless she would be from his time... he doesn’t talk to many people unless it’s for the mission” Jongdae explains. “Why do you think he knows a female Junmyeon?”

 

“Well, while we were in China, Tao spoke of a Junmyeon. Someone he cared deeply for and missed, someone he had feelings for... well actually I don’t think he really confirmed that the person he has feelings for is Junmyeon but he did not deny it either.”

 

“Tao said he had feelings for someone?” Jongdae says shocked by the news.

 

“Yes, but he didn’t think the feelings were reciprocated” Luhan says remembering how he thought that was rather unfortunate.

 

“And you think it was Junmyeon?” Jongdae asks again.

 

“Well I did when I thought Junmyeon was a girl” Luhan explains. “He talked about how he missed Junmyeon a lot. It’s what he talked about most honestly, I’m sure he mentioned you at least once.”

 

“I’m kind of offended by that” Jongdae says smiling “He didn’t miss me? How rude.”

 

“He said he missed the others too... just not as frequently” Luhan explains “I must have misinterpreted though.”

 

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that” Jongdae says smiling.

 

“What do you mean?” Luhan asks.

 

“I’ll explain that a bit later” Jongdae says excitedly “Well we can do the living room later I have some new info I’d like to share with Minseok.”

 

“Ok?” Luhan asks still very confused about the conversation they just had.   

  
  



	9. LeT's dO sOme teAM bUilDINg!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry if you speak Japanese and this is not well done. I don't speak Japanese so I used google translate.

_22th of June 2018, Tao’s house, South Korea_

 

“It’s so cool you guys are finally moving in with us!” Jongin says while carrying a box up the stairs. “And your room is right beside mine and Kyungsoo’s!”

 

“Yeah well, it seemed like a good idea” Baekhyun replies putting his box down in front of his new room “I always feel out of the loop since we only see each other once a week.”

 

“There’s not much news since last week. The only mildly interesting thing is Minseok and Jongdae whispering a lot but no matter how much I beg, they won’t explain what it’s about” Jongin pouts putting down his box beside Baekhyun’s “We could really use some more fun around here!”

 

“What being in the future with a bunch of people with powers isn’t entertaining enough?” Baekhyun asks sarcastically “Was your school life more fun? Lots of parties?”

 

“Parties? Yeah but only during school and we were on summer break so” Jongin shrugs “I guess this is more fun but everyone sort of keeps to themselves.”

 

“Chanyeol and I aren’t known for being introverted or quiet” Baekhyun smiles “That was the last box so I’ll grab Chanyeol so we can unpack”

 

“Good night! Talk to you tomorrow morning!” Jongin waves before walking into his own room.

 

Baekhyun goes downstairs and finds Chanyeol in front of the TV watching some random verity show. He knows it’s going to be a struggle to get Chanyeol upstairs but after a long day, he’s exhausted and desperately wants to float off to dreamland. The day was so tiring and not only with the move but they spent many hours practicing their powers, Chanyeol lit his candle 5 times, he worked so hard his face got bright red.

 

“It’s time for bed!” Baekhyun pulls Chanyeol by the arm almost pulling him off the couch “I’m tired and we still have boxes to unpack!”

 

“It’s so big and the quality is so good!” Chanyeol mumbles trying to watch his show.

 

“I’m not even going to comment on what that sounds like” Baekhyun says pulling again “Please let’s go! Everyone’s already sleeping!”

 

“Just ten more minutes, please” Chanyeol says pausing the show and looking straight at Baekhyun.

 

“Chanyeollie I’m tired” Baekhyun pouts the way he does anytime he wants something “We can watch this tomorrow but can we pleeeease go to bed?”

 

“Fine” Chanyeol caves, he really can’t resist that pout. “Let’s go but how about we go straight to bed, the boxes can wait for tomorrow too.”

 

“Sounds great!” Baekhyun smiles.

 

The boys go up the stairs and walk into their room. They decide they should at least pull their boxes into their room before getting into bed. Chanyeol goes to turn out the light and makes his way to his bed and gets all cozy in the new sheets.

 

“Good night Baekhyunnie” Chanyeol says before closing his eyes.

 

“Chanyeol?” Baekhyun asks in a soft voice “I have something to show you.”

 

Chanyeol turns his head towards Baekhyun, he sees that Baekhyun is making some weird hand movements before he catches on and looks up at the ceiling. There are hundreds of little stars twinkling.

 

“That’s beautiful” Chanyeol says in awe “Did you show Tao this?”

 

“No” Baekhyun says his voice a little sleepy “I wanted to show you first, do you like it?”

 

“I love it, it reminds me of that one night we went stargazing. I think it was the night after our last day elementary school when we snuck out my window to look at the stars on the roof. Remember I got my sock stuck on my window’s lock?” Chanyeol reminisces.

 

“I almost fell off the roof trying to pull you” Baekhyun laughs lightly.

 

“We would have been in so much trouble if that happened. We were already up 2 hours after my bedtime and my parents told me over fifty times I wasn’t allowed on the roof” Chanyeol smiles “Remember you got cold and then I had to go get you a blanket?”

 

“Remember how  _you_ got cold right after that and we had to huddle under that one blanket because you didn’t want to go back in?” Baekhyun adds smiling.

 

“Cuddling on a roof isn’t the worst thing. I’m glad we went on the roof that night though, I don’t think I’ve ever seen the sky so clear or the stars so bright as they were on that night. I think that’s one of the happiest memories I have honestly. It was so much fun and not just because we were sneaking around but I also just loved spending the night talking to you. I don’t say this enough but I’m really happy to have you in my life. I honestly can’t picture my life without you”

Chanyeol says sincerely before realizing the stars had faded and are very hard to see. He looks over at his friend to see he had fallen asleep, probably while Chanyeol was talking.

 

“Good night Baekhyunnie. Thank you for giving me my power, I love you”

 

~=+•+=~

 

_5th of July 2018, Tao’s house, South Korea_

 

“Everyone come downstairs!” Tao yells from the dining room which has recently become their makeshift meeting room since they now have 11 people living in the mansion. “Even Yixing!”

 

“Wait, me too?” Yixing says poking his head in from the kitchen.

 

Tao jumps slightly not expecting Yixing to be that close, he thought everyone was still in their rooms.

 

“Yes” Tao says regaining his composure “Why don’t you have a seat while the others arrive.”

 

“What is this about?” Yixing says sitting down at the table “Is it bad?”

 

“No, no not at all!” Tao says quickly “I’ll explain in a little bit when the others come but till then I was wondering how you’re adjusting”

 

“Good! The antibiotics you gave me worked almost better than my power. I mean you said I could leave quarantine two days ago and with my power, I could really only fight off the effects” Yixing says happily “I’m glad you came when you did, I don’t think I would have lived much longer... but that’s over!”

 

“The culture shock isn’t too intense?” Tao asks worriedly.

 

“Hmm no? Luhan helped me a lot and honestly, I’m not convinced this isn’t heaven but I’m just feeling so much better. I can’t help but be happy” Yixing smiles intensely making his dimple extra evident.

 

“Hey what’s up?” Chanyeol says walking in along with Baekhyun, Kyungsoo and Jongin “Yixing’s smiling so this must be good news.”

 

“Have a seat, I’ll explain when the others come”

 

After about ten minutes almost everyone was in the room except Minseok and Jongdae.

 

“Ok well I’ll explain without them and you can fill them in” Tao starts “I’m going to search for the dragon again, I went over the files with Minseok late last night and I’m very sure about it this time. While I’m gone, all of you will be doing some team building exercises.”

 

Tao pulls out a small pack of pages and places them on the table.

 

“I think this will be useful since we are all a team and not everyone knows each other that well. There are groups for the morning and afternoon on page 1. There are 5 exercise stations, so two people per station. These are fun activities that won’t just allow you to get to know your partner but also help to practice some skills we might need on our mission, including using powers so bring the fire extinguishers.”

 

“Are we finally going to learn about the mission?” Jongin asks.

 

“Not today no but as soon as I find that dragon we can. I promise.” Tao replies “Well that’s all, the instructions all written down so... good luck guys! I’ve got to go”

 

The next second Tao disappears, off to another year in search of the dragon.

 

“Sure knows how to make a dramatic exit huh?” Sehun comments “So who’s going to read the pages?”

 

Everyone turns their head towards Junmyeon.

 

“Why me?” Junmyeon asks feeling a little attacked with all those eyes on him.

 

“Well, I don’t know you’re kind of like our leader or something when Tao isn’t here anyways” Luhan mumbles.

 

“Or our mom” Jongin adds laughing lightly.

 

“Ok fine, I accept being in charge for today” Junmyeon gets up and grabs the pages “The groups for this morning are Jongin and Kyungsoo at station 1, Minseok and Yixing at station 2, Chanyeol and Jongdae for 3, Me and Sehun for 4 and Baekhyun and Luhan at station 5. It also says the stations are already set up around the house. Station 1 is in the basement, 2 and 3 are in the backyard, 4 is in the living room and 5 is in the kitchen. So I’ll just give the instructions for each activity to whoever needs it and... uh yeah, I guess we’ll start. We have till 1 pm so 4 hours, then we’ll meet back here.”

 

The instruction pages all are given out and the groups go to the appropriate area of the house.

 

“You know where the basement is?” Jongin asks following Kyungsoo.

 

“You don’t?” Kyungsoo asks confused “We’ve been living here for over a month have you not done any laundry?”

 

“Well, I mean Junmyeon hyung always offered so” Jongin asks feeling a little ashamed.

 

“Did you not at least wonder about this door?” Kyungsoo says stopped in front of the door to the basement.

 

“I thought it was a storage closet” he shrugs. “Is that a lock?”

 

“Yeah I’m not sure why it’s there, it opens from the other side too”

 

The two walk down the stairs and look around the basement, there doesn’t seem to be any sort of activity set up.

 

“Do you think it’s just some trust falls or something?” Jongin asks confused “Why did Tao even put us together, we already know each other, we don't even have any secrets”

 

“I was confused about that too...” Kyungsoo admits “Let’s just read the instructions and-”

 

Kyungsoo was interrupted by the door to the basement slamming shut.

 

“Do you think the wind did that?” Jongin asks scared.

 

“What wind?” Kyungsoo asks before they hear the clear sound of a deadbolt locking.

 

“Hyung it’s locked” Jongin says after quickly running up to check “The lock won’t turn, what’s going on?”

 

“Before we freak out let’s read the instructions and make sure this isn’t just the activity, worst comes to worst we can get out through the window so let’s just stay calm.” Kyungsoo says calmly before reading the instructions out loud “After entering the basement stay clear of the door while it closes itself and locks, after that your escape room will begin. To get out you’ll need to find all the clues and accomplish every challenge, there will be a prize for the group that finishes fastest. Clues can be hidden anywhere. There will be no need to break anything so if you do you’ll be doing laundry for 3 weeks. Good luck.”

 

“We have to find clues? Like old school detectives? That’s cool” Jongin says having his fear replaced by excitement “Let’s beat the afternoon group!”

 

“Well let’s look around then!” Kyungsoo says getting a bit excited himself, he’s never experienced an escape room, they weren’t a thing in the 90s and he hasn’t gone to one yet even though he’s wanted to.

 

~=+•+=~

 

“Let’s recap what we have” Jongin says slightly frustrated leaning against a bookshelf.

 

“Ok so we found the colour coded clues that led to the key in the fake book which let us open this box that has a weird power adaptor and the message ‘a plug used in another space’ which I tried decoding by jumbling the letters but I couldn’t find anything” Kyungsoo replies “We also have two weird electronic looking headbands which I assume we’ll need to wear”

 

“What if it literally meant another space?” Jongin asks thinking seriously.

 

“What other space, we can’t leave the door is locked and we already checked the supply closet and all the cupboard, even in the loveseats” Kyungsoo explains “We literally checked everything in this room”

 

“But what if this isn’t the only room?” Jongin asks.

 

“I know you’ve never been down here but this is the only room” Kyungsoo says questioning his friend’s idea “I think I would have noticed a second room.”

 

“No, but think about it! A house this big with such a tiny basement? It’s kind of odd” Jongin says starting to pat the walls for secret doors “Check the closet for a secret door!”

 

“Fine but I don’t think-” Kyungsoo says looking at a weird deformed looking part of the wall “Jongin come look at this!”

 

“Coming!” Jongin says coming over to look in the closet, to be able to see properly he has to move very close to Kyungsoo “Do you have a flashlight?”

 

“Yeah on my phone one second” Kyungsoo says turning on flashlight mode “See how there’s a break in the wallpaper here, almost looks like it could be one of those airplane bathroom handles”

 

“Let’s push it!” Jongin says leaning forward further pushing his chest into Kyungsoo’s back. He pushes on the weird part of the wall before it bounces back revealing a tiny handle “See I was right!”

 

“Damn you really were” Kyungsoo mumbles, his heart beating loudly for some reason “Ok well let’s get through, this is really stuffy.”

 

The two push the door open and walk into the new room. There are games everywhere, pool table, air hockey, even a miniature basketball net. In the centre of the room, there’s a table with some smaller games as well.

 

“I’ll go back and get our clues while you search this room” Kyungsoo says walking back towards the closet, he makes sure to put a slipper on the ground as a doorstop not wanting to get stuck on the other side alone by accident.

 

“Hyung! I found a game here that has a note on it” Jongin calls from the new room.

 

“What does it say?” Kyungsoo says coming back in with all their previous clues, they might be of use.

 

“It says ‘play with honesty, play away your secrets, play to win, play to learn, play to play’” Jongin recites “But it’s not plugged in so to play it or whatever that clue means we’ll need that adaptor”

 

“Ok I’ll set the game up” Kyungsoo says plugging it in and then investigating the machine to start it

 

“二つの真実と嘘!” The machine says while starting up and flashing many different colours “カンニングしてショックを受ける!”

 

“I wish I had Luhan and Yixing’s translation patches” Jongin sighs.

 

“Those only allowed them to understand and speak Korean, they would be useless since this is... Japanese I think?”

 

“Didn’t you learn any Japanese watching those animes you love?” Jongin asks.

 

“Not really and I don’t appreciate your judgy tone” Kyungsoo narrows his eyes “But if we can get it to speak again we could get google to translate, it might work.”

 

Kyungsoo pushes the main button again after starting good translate.

 

“ヘッドバンドをかける!”

 

“It said ‘Put a headband’” Kyungsoo reads out loud “It’s not a great translation but at least we know it involves the headbands. Let’s put them on and sit at the table.”

 

The boys get ready to play the game with google translate open so they can figure out what they are meant to do.

 

“Ok so basically we have to play two truths and a lie, but if we cheat at all we will get shocked” Kyungsoo reads from his phone “This is definitely not from this time, this tech does not exist, I think this thing can read our thoughts or something”

 

“Ok well I’ll start” Jongin says “I’ve never flown in a plane, my dance partner took a photo of me in a ballerina costume and I’m wearing hot pink underwear”

 

“Hot pink- What? Uh” Kyungsoo says caught off guard before thinking about it for a bit “You said you’ve never teleported without going to that place before, so you must have taken a flight to Chicago”

 

“Could have been a boat” Jongin explains.

 

“No you said you’d never go on a cruise, long boat rides scare you” Kyungsoo says very sure of his answer “You have been on a plane, that’s my final guess.”

 

“You are...” Jongin says smiling “Right! Your turn!”

 

“I’ve never had a hamster, I’ve never watched Prince of Tennis and I have a journal” Kyungsoo says calmly, noting he’ll have to ask Jongin about that ballerina photo later.

 

“Prince of Tennis is an anime right?” Jongin asks

 

“I will not answer that” Kyungsoo says flatly.

 

“How am I supposed to remember what anime you watch” Jongin sighs “Well I would guess you don’t have a journal because I’ve never seen it but I didn’t know you could start earthquakes either so... Hamster? Didn’t every American kid have a hamster at some point, isn’t that a thing?”

 

“I don’t think that’s a thing” Kyungsoo says “Is that your final guess?”

 

“Yes, you actually did have a hamster that’s my guess.” Jongin says nodding seriously.

 

“Wrong!”

 

~=+•+=~

 

“That’s not fair!” Chanyeol yells watching Jongdae pop another balloon. “Your power is so perfect for this! You just zap it and it pops!”

 

“Yours would be perfect too if you could start a tiny flame in the balloon!” Jongdae laughs adding another balloon to his score.

 

“I’m not good enough with my power” Chanyeol sighs “Can we just move on to the next game, look there’s lawn bowling!”

 

“How about instead I try to help you with your power” Jongdae says moving towards Chanyeol “What do you think about to light your candle?”

 

“Uhhhh” Chanyeol blushes not wanting to admit, even to himself really, what helps him “I-it’s passion, passionate thoughts”

 

“Like your passion for music?” Jongdae asks “You love music right? Or is it your passion for animals?”

 

“N-no I mean yeah yeah it’s music” Chanyeol says trying, ineffectively, to hide the true meaning of his words.

 

“It’s a person, isn’t it? You have a crush? That’s so cute!” Jongdae says excitedly, he’s not sharing this with Minseok this time. He doesn’t want the ‘don’t intrude in others love lives’ lecture again. “Who is it? Are they cute?”

 

“The cutest-” Chanyeol slips “I mean... yeah whatever fine I have a crush, now teach me how to use my fire.”

 

“Ok well think of that person, well the feeling they give you while concentrating on what you want to light on fire” Jongdae instructs while watching Chanyeol close his eyes, a smile spreading across his face. Chanyeol must really like this crush.   

 

The balloon dramatically pops a deep gray smoke coming out.

 

“I did it!” Chanyeol says excitedly “It worked!”

 

Shortly after the whole board with the balloons bursts into flames.

 

“SHIT!” Jongdae exclaims.

 

Both of them rush over to the fire extinguishers and put the fire out, luckily the fire didn’t spread much, a few blades of grass are burnt but no serious damage.

 

“You might need to learn how to control those feelings of yours” Jongdae explains “They seem pretty strong.”

 

“How did you control yours?” Chanyeol asks.

 

“Well I started making storms at a really young age, I didn’t really control anything” Jongdae explains “When I was upset, there was a storm. When I came here I learned by practicing, it was just trial and error until I developed a sort of ‘muscle memory’. It would be the same way you learned how to play complicated music on the guitar or piano I imagine”

 

“I’ll keep that in mind” Chanyeol nods “Race you to lawn bowling!”

 

“Wait! You had a head start!” Jongdae says running at full speed.   

 

~=+•+=~

“This has to be the last clue right?”

 

“Probably it’s 12:30 already, it’s the last one or we aren’t going to win” Kyungsoo confirms.

 

“So we have two blue balls and one red” Jongin repeats “Which is like the two truths one lie game we played, learned some interesting things by the way” he says smirking.

 

“Don’t act like I was the only one, hot pink underwear, dressed up as a ballerina and went skinny dipping” Kyungsoo laughs “But back to this the last clue has to do with the game again.”

 

“Is there a red or blue button?” Jongin asks.

 

“Oh that’s a good idea” Kyungsoo inspects the machine “There are 3 yellow buttons one black and one green, some have writing above them, I’ll scan them”

 

“Ok so the yellow ones control the mode or something” Kyungsoo says “Google really isn’t the best at this.”

 

“Well do they change colours if you push them?” Jongin asks coming closer to the machine.

 

Kyungsoo pushes one and it changes into 5 different colours, yellow, blue, green, purple and orange.

 

“There’s no red” Kyungsoo says “How do we make it blue, blue, red without the red”

 

“Try all purple” Jongin suggests, no reaction from the machine. “What about blue, blue, orange or blue, blue, purple as a substitute”

 

“Hang on, earlier the paper said ‘play with honesty, play your secrets’ or something right? So if blue represents the truth...” Kyungsoo enters three blue and the machine lights up and yells again.

 

“What did it say?” Jongin asks “Did you have google open?”

 

“No, but I know this...” Kyungsoo thinks hard about when he learned it “Oh right! It means ‘deepest secret’, which makes sense considering the riddle.”

 

“Ok well let’s get these headbands on and finish the game so we can win!” Jongin says excitedly.

 

The machine yells again but Kyungsoo is prepared and gets it translated.

 

“One of the two keeps a big secret” Kyungsoo reads “Ok well that was obvious I didn’t need that.”

 

“Well I don’t have any big secrets so it must be you” Jongin says smiling ready to hear a secret and win the game.

 

“Jongin, I think we both know what the secret is and I won’t judge you just say it so we can go” Kyungsoo says softly “I already know, it’s ok, I accept you fully”

 

“What are you talking about? I don’t have a secret” Jongin says “You’re acting like I’m gay or something.”

 

Kyungsoo nods seriously.

 

“Kyungsoo...” Jongin frowns “Stereotypes aren’t always true, I thought you would know better than that, I’m straight.”

 

Kyungsoo’s heart sinks. Jongin’s not gay? All the hugging and... He’s straight? That doesn’t... What?

 

“Hello?” Jongin waves his hand “Earth to Kyungsoo? You ok?”

 

“Yeah sorry I just-” Kyungsoo’s still trying to wrap his head around it, Jongin is straight, why is he so upset about it? “I just thought... wow I don’t know why uh”

 

“Why do I feel like I have to comfort you?” Jongin laughs “Don’t worry, I’m still the same Jongin, still your friend. I’ve never come out as straight this is weird... I mean I’ve told some guys who came on to me but-”

 

“Who?” Kyungsoo asks “Actually nevermind let’s just finish this. If that’s not the deep secret then what is?”

 

“How would I know?” Jongin smiles “Like I said I’m not hiding anything”

 

“I don’t know what it is either” Kyungsoo says truthfully “I mean I did eat all your cereal and lie about it once but that’s not it.”

 

“Hey! I remember that!” Jongin yells “I actually believed you!”

 

“I told you [ house hippos ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TijcoS8qHIE) ate your cereal how did you believe me?” Kyungsoo asks baffled.

 

“I saw the ad on TV once!” Jongin exclaims “I thought they were real!”

 

“That ad literally tells you they aren’t” Kyungsoo replies “Anyways back to this, any other secrets maybe? Did you steal my red sweater?”

 

“I told you I didn’t! I don’t lie like some people” Jongin pouts “You know...”

 

“What?” Kyungsoo asks.

 

“You’ve never said how you feel about me” Jongin says cocking an eyebrow “I tell you you’re my best friend and that I love you but you’ve never replied”

 

“That’s because... it’s weird why would I say that out loud... you already know it” Kyungsoo crosses his arms.

 

“No I don’t, unless you say it I won’t know it” Jongin says sounding a bit like a kid.

 

“Fine” Kyungsoo grumbles “We want to win so... Jongin your my best friend and...”

 

“And?” Jongin asks smirking.

 

“I find you tolerable” Kyungsoo smiles.

 

“Hyung...” Jongin pouts.

 

“Fuck, fine alright” Kyungsoo looks up at the ceiling “I love you Nini”

 

“Game Over!” the machine yells happily in accented English.

 

“Finally something I can understand from this thing!” Jongin yells “Thank you Kyungsoo!”

 

Jongin gets up and pulls his friend in for a hug.

 

“Yeah yeah great now let’s get out of here”

 


	10. Kyungsoo: Captain Obvious

_ 5th of July 2018, Tao’s house, South Korea _

 

“Ok welcome back everyone” Junmyeon says “I hope you all enjoyed your activities but it’s time to switch!” 

 

“Did you guys have escape rooms too?” Jongin asks. 

 

“You had an escape room? What! All we did was try to bake a cake! Many times... they tasted awful” Baekhyun says sadly. 

 

“Yeah! It even had a hidden-” Jongin gets cut off when Kyungsoo’s hand lands on his mouth.

 

“We aren’t going to give them the key to beating our time, are we?” Kyungsoo asks Jongin before turning to the rest of the group. “It was fun but we had to reset everything ourselves for the next group."

 

“Oh that’s lame, Tao made two of all the backyard activities we did.”  Jongdae explains “Which is good because one might have been burned...”

 

“That’s what you were doing? We had a nature scavenger hunt and mystery thing it was kinda cool” Minseok shrugs. 

 

“Ok well as much as sharing is fun, we should probably start the afternoon activities since we’ll want to finish before dinner, everyone ate lunch right?” Junmyeon asks. 

 

Everyone mumbles “yes”. Apart from Jongin who whispers to Kyungsoo how Junmyeon really nags and worries like a mom. 

 

“So just like last time, I’ll just name the groups” Junmyeon says picking up the page and reading it “ Chanyeol and Yixing at station 1, me and Jongdae at station 2,  Jongin and Luhan at station 3, Baekhyun and Sehun at 4 and Minseok and Kyungsoo at 5. You all know where the stations are so let’s go!” 

 

~=+•+=~ 

 

“So we have a bunch of baking and cooking options here, are you good at cooking?” Minseok asks Kyungsoo while flipping through the recipe book they were given. 

 

“I’m pretty decent? Jongin like my kimchi spaghetti best” Kyungsoo says not wanting to brag. 

 

“Ok well that’s good, I’m better at baking than cooking” Minseok admits “I mostly make coffee in the kitchen. Also, there are so many fast meals or leftovers that I don’t often cook for myself.” 

 

“Did you not cook before you came here?” Kyungsoo asks already checking the fridge for ingredients. Perfect, some steak. 

 

“No actually, you know I was Jongdae’s personal guard right?” Minseok asks pulling out bowls from the cupboards.

 

“Yeah but I don’t know I thought you’d eat at your house or something” Kyungsoo says pulling out the steak. 

 

“Personal guard is kind of a full-time job, my home was at the palace, with Jongdae actually” Minseok smiles remembering “He’d force the staff to let me eat with him too so I really never cooked.”

 

“Aw that sounds nice” Kyungsoo hums “So maybe we could make like a whole proper dinner for everyone?”

 

“Yeah, that sounds great!” Minseok says checking the cookbook “So like rice, fish, other sides and like a soft tofu stew as a main?” 

 

“I was actually thinking of making a hot pot with beef” Kyungsoo says holding up the meat he found in the fridge “I’ve made it a lot so hopefully I won’t mess up.”

 

“I’m sure it will be delicious! I’ll work on the side dishes!” 

 

~=+•+=~ 

 

“Station four is just video games?” Baekhyun says reading the sheet “Ok well sounds fun even if it’s not as cool as an escape room”

 

“What is an escape room?” Sehun asks feeling a little timid, he hasn’t talked to Baekhyun much.

 

“It’s like a room full of puzzles and riddles that you have to solve to get out! But there’s a timer so if you don’t figure out everything you’ll still be let out but it counts as a failure” Baekhyun explains grabbing the controllers and handing one to Sehun. 

 

“What’s this?” Sehun asks again feeling a little weird for not knowing.

 

“Oh! You haven’t played any games on the TV?” Baekhyun asks before sitting down beside Sehun. 

 

Sehun shakes his head. 

 

“That’s ok! I’ll teach you” Baekhyun says switching the TV on “Let’s play something simple like... super smash bros, I’ll go easy on you I promise.”

 

Baekhyun explains how the controller works before starting a match. As promised, Baekhyun tries to take it easy on Sehun as he learns the controls. Slowly Baekhyun has to use more and more of his full effort before Sehun actually wins a match. 

 

“I did it! I beat you hyung!” Sehun says excited “It’s ok to call you that right?”

 

“Hyung? Yeah of course Sehunnie” Baekhyun smiles ruffling Sehun's hair “But you won’t be winning another match so remember this feeling.”

 

~=+•+=~

 

“You’re kind of quiet is everything ok?” Minseok asks Kyungsoo while chopping cucumbers. 

 

“I’m usually like this” Kyungsoo explains stirring the pot slowly “I mean I’m averagely outgoing but beside Jongin I always seem a lot quieter” 

 

“I’m like that too” Minseok says “I mean as a guard I really only spoke when it was my place to or when Jongdae and I were alone, not so used to the loudness of Chanyeol and Baekhyun, god forbid Jongdae joins them. I’ve never seen Jongdae yell that much but I think he likes it”

 

“He does seem loud doesn’t he?” Kyungsoo laughs “I wasn’t sure how you two were so close since I often see you sitting calmly with a book or something while he’s off doing who knows what.”

 

“He’s much quieter with me” Minseok smiles.

 

“I’d like to see that.”

 

“Other than Jongin have you gotten close with anyone in the house?” Minseok asks putting the cucumbers in a dish and moving on to the next dish. 

 

“Tao and Junmyeon, but I Chanyeol’s probably my second closest friend after Jongin...” Kyungsoo stops to think “I think that’s it? I spend a fair bit of time alone.”

 

“Guess it’s good we’re doing this right?” Minseok smiles “Who were you with for the first round? You two must have gotten at least a bit closer”

 

“I was with Jongin actually” Kyungsoo says before going to get radish out of the fridge to chop. 

 

“Oh right... that’s weird isn’t it?” Minseok says pausing his chopping momentarily “Wonder why...”

 

“I guess to practice problem-solving together? We didn’t study together so it’s not something we did.” Kyungsoo shrugs going back to the counter.

 

“Was there anything else?” Minseok asks absentmindedly. 

 

Kyungsoo freezes thinking about the truth part of the escape room. He still can’t figure out why it made him feel so off. Because something he thought was a fact about his friend wasn’t actually true? It’s not a big deal though, right?

 

“Kyungsoo?” Minseok says turning “You stopped cutting, did something happen?”

 

“Huh?” Kyungsoo says pulled out his thoughts “Oh, I was just thinking.”

 

“About your last activity?” Minseok asks abandoning his side dish to give Kyungsoo his full attention. 

 

“It’s just” Kyungsoo sighs “I’ve been waiting for Jongin to come out for a while.”

 

“But when he did you felt weird?” Minseok asks “You know it doesn’t change your friendship right? Doesn’t mean he’s going to fall in love with you or anything.”

 

“No, no that’s not it” Kyungsoo dismisses “He told me he was straight, but I was so sure and I don’t even know why?”

 

“Did he go out with guys?” Minseok asks softly. 

 

“No? He didn’t go out with girls either but I don’t know, he just... I guess it was just the stereotypes I had caught in my head” Kyungsoo leans on the counter before looking up at Minseok “You’re really progressive for someone from the Joseon era.”

 

“I never really concerned myself with these types of politics so when I came here, I heard the arguments and decided that love is love. I don’t see why I should butt in even if I didn’t feel that way” Minseok explains “But back to you, what’s bothering you about this? That’s he’s not gay?”

 

“Ye- No... Well maybe? I think it’s that I really thought he was. It’s like if your whole like the sky was gray and the next day someone tells you it’s blue.” Kyungsoo explains “It’s weird to have a fact about your best friend changed.”

 

“That’s it? Nothing else?” Minseok asks. “You were wrong about a characteristic of your friend and that’s what’s freaking you out?”

 

“Well yeah” Kyungsoo runs a hand through his hair “What else could it be?”

 

“Did you maybe think he was gay because you wanted him to be?” Minseok asks and Kyungsoo looks up at him with wide eyes. 

 

“I-” Kyungsoo clears his throat “What makes you think that?” 

 

“Usually this wouldn’t bother someone that much” Minseok shrugs “I wouldn’t know, I haven’t been in your position before but maybe ask Chanyeol?”

 

“Chanyeol?” Kyungsoo asks confused.

 

“Well Baekhyun is openly bi but since he and Chanyeol have been friends since they were in diapers I’m sure Baekhyun had to tell him at some point” Minseok says grabbing another ingredient for his side dish “He’ll probably have more insight.”

 

“Sure” Kyungsoo mumbles going back to chopping “I’ll ask Chanyeol.”

 

~=+•+=~

 

“I won! AGAIN Take that!” Sehun yells getting up off the couch and doing a little dance. 

 

“Yeah yeah have some respect for your elders will you?” Baekhyun jokes “I’ll definitely beat you at Mario Kart though”

 

“What too scared to fight me again?” Sehun teases. 

 

“Oh I’ll fight you” Baekhyun says getting off the couch leaving his controller on the cushion. 

 

“You left your controller” Sehun points out getting a little nervous. 

 

“I know” Baekhyun says seriously “Too scared to fight me?”

 

“Hyung you’re way smaller than me I can’t fight you.”

 

“Then I’m going to win” Baekhyun smirks. 

 

Sehun sprints out of the room, Baekhyun follows his almost matching his pace. Sehun makes his way to the nearest door, that goes into the basement, doesn't it? He pulls but it won’t open, right the escape room. Sehun runs for the kitchen as Baekhyun almost grabs him. 

 

“HELP” Sehun yells to Minseok before hiding behind him. 

 

“What’s going on?” Minseok asks confused before Baekhyun runs in. 

 

“Oh hey guys did you see Sehun?”  Baekhyun asks catching his breath “Wait there he is”

 

“No don’t touch him” Minseok says protecting Sehun “Why are you running after Sehunnie?”

 

“He won’t fight me!” Baekhyun whines. 

 

“Aren’t you meant to be playing video games? Just beat him in Mario Kart or something” Minseok suggest “Sehun, go play with Baekhyun.”

 

“No fun” Baekhyun sighs “Alright well, let’s play Mario Kart then.”

 

They walk back and sit back down on the couch getting ready to play the new game. 

 

“I would have won in under 20 seconds” Sehun teases. 

 

“That’s it!” Baekhyun says before launching himself on Sehun.   

 

~=+•+=~

 

“Do you mind going outside and telling the guys that supper is ready?” Minseok asks “I’ll grab the boys in the living room and the two in the basement”

 

“Looks like they didn’t beat me and Jongin!” Kyungsoo says happily before walking to the back door. 

 

Minseok walks into the living room, the boys are sitting on the couch playing some sort of racing game. Clearly, they didn’t listen to Minseok though because their hair is a mess and the coffee table has been pushed into a corner. Not to mention Minseok’s 90% sure he heard someone screaming “Tap out! Tap out!” at one point.

 

“Dinner is ready” Minseok says from behind them “And fix your hair.”

 

They turn around but Minseok is already walking towards the basement door. They turn off the game and walk into the dining room. 

 

Minseok turns the deadbolt and opens the door. 

 

“Time’s up guys!” Minseok yells.

 

“Awww but we were just playing two truths and a dare!” Chanyeol yells back up. 

 

“Sorry! You can always play later” Minseok says before he hears them run up the stairs. 

 

Kyungsoo walks back in with everyone else and they all sit at the table. 

 

“We made the meal, I made the main dish and Minseok made most of the side dishes” Kyungsoo announces “Hope you enjoy!” 

 

“Kyungsoo’s hot pots are the best!” Jongin says excitedly. 

 

~=+•+=~

 

“Kyungsoo, Jongin was right your hot pot is amazing!” Chanyeol smiles.  

 

“Thanks Chanyeol!” Kyungsoo says before realizing he should talk to him “Do you mind if we talk?” 

 

“I was going to finish the two truths and a lie with Yixing but sure we can just do that tomorrow”  Chanyeol says “What’s up?”

 

“Do you mind if we sit in the living room?”  Kyungsoo asks.

 

“Yeah let’s go” Chanyeol says walking towards the living room “Is it something bad?” 

 

“No just, I don’t know, Minseok said I could use your advice on something.”

 

They sit down on the couch and Kyungsoo explains his whole situation to Chanyeol. Both his experience and conversation with Minseok.

 

“Well, I agree with Minseok” Chanyeol says seriously “I think there’s something else bothering you about this situation.”

 

“Do you mind telling me how you reacted when Baekhyun told you?” Kyungsoo asks. 

 

“That he was bi? I mean I think he was the one having trouble. I was the first person he told so he was really nervous but I told him everything was ok and then we went out for ice cream. I’m oversimplifying but I really didn’t feel upset at all? I just wanted him to feel loved and accepted the way he should be.” Chanyeol explains “A few weeks later he told his family, that went very well too”

 

“I was so ready to do that...” Kyungsoo explains “I was ready for when he would tell me and I would comfort him and tell him I’d always be there for him.”

 

“Maybe you feel like he doesn’t need you? Is that it?” Chanyeol asks “You usually look out for him right? Since he’s younger and was living in a foreign country?”

 

“I do” Kyungsoo says “But he’s been living here just fine and I didn’t feel this way. Plus he still likes to hug and everything, I don’t feel unneeded at all. Hell, when he told me about his powers I got over it faster.”

 

“Well if it’s not that you’re learning something life-changing about your friend and it's not that he doesn’t need your comfort... Minseok might be right.” Chanyeol says rubbing Kyungsoo’s back. 

 

“What do you mean?” Kyungsoo asks him confused. 

 

“Do you think you might like Jongin? Romantically?” 

 

“What?” Kyungsoo asks confused “No, he was the one who...”

 

Kyungsoo revisits how he’s been feeling around Jongin. How his heart racing when he comes too close. He thought it was because he doesn’t like having people invade his personal space but... Jongin always makes him smile even when no one else can and he really doesn’t mind all the hugs... The idea of Jongin with someone else does make him feel protective, jealous even. Friends can feel that way though right? He’s not like that around any other friend though...

 

“Oh my God” Kyungsoo exclaims “I like Jongin?”   
  


“I think you do” Chanyeol agrees.

 

“That game... the one in the basement... it made me admit my deepest secret and when I said that I loved Jongin it said we won.” Kyungsoo looks scared “You don’t think it knew? Oh my God, does Jongin know? He’s the one who suggested it. I-I, what am I going to do?” 

 

“It seems pretty advanced but I don’t know if it knew that much.” Chanyeol says trying to comfort Kyungsoo some more. “He’s still your friend, everything’s going to be fine.”

 

“He’s straight Chanyeol” Kyungsoo says freaking out “He said it to my face. So what I have to get over him now? How am I going to look at him?”

 

“Kyungsoo, you’re going to be ok. I’ve liked friends, it kind of sucks but the bottom line is that you enjoy being with them” Chanyeol says softly “Don’t push him away ok? Just enjoy his company and eventually you’ll get over him.”

 

“Did that work for you?” Kyungsoo asks feeling a little less shaken up “You got over your friend?”

 

“I did” Chanyeol says. It worked... until it didn’t and now he’s right back in the same situation as Kyungsoo, well minus the straight part. 

 

“We should get to bed, but if you need to talk again I’m always open to it” Chanyeol says sincerely. 

 

“Thanks Chanyeol” Kyungsoo says getting off the couch “Do I have to sleep in my room tonight though?”

 

“You could sleep here, I’ll just say we played a game, you fell asleep and I didn’t want to wake you” Chanyeol suggests. 

 

“Yeah ok” Kyungsoo says sitting back down on the couch feeling a bit better “Thanks again Chanyeol.”

 

“No problem.”

 

~=+•+=~

 

_ 6th of July 2018, Tao’s house, South Korea _

 

Kyungsoo walks into the kitchen, looks like he’s the first one up. He pulls out two pieces of bread and throws them in the toaster. He’s feeling less panicked about talking to Jongin after a good night’s rest. Well, the couch isn’t exactly ideal but he slept fine anyways.

 

“Hey Kyungsoo you’re up early” Yixing says walking into the kitchen “Is there any leftover rice?”

 

“There’s some in the fridge yeah”

 

Kyungsoo hasn’t gotten much of a chance to talk to Yixing, but from what he’s heard Yixing is oddly accepting of the future. He gets along really well with everyone and is just all around a sweetie. 

 

“I was thinking of going out today with Luhan, we’re both getting a little stir crazy staying in the house. Chanyeol says it’s really pretty downtown so I wanted to check it out.” Yixing says putting his food in the microwave “How long should I put this in for?” 

 

“2 minutes?” Kyungsoo answers “You’re bringing someone else with you, right? You don’t want to get lost.”

 

“Of course, Junmyeon agreed to come. I think it’s good for him since he’s starting to worry about Tao, like always” Yixing says turning back towards Kyungsoo “I was thinking of inviting you too, Minseok and Jongdae said they were busy but anyone is welcome to join.”

 

Kyungsoo thinks about it a bit, Chanyeol said he shouldn’t avoid Jongin so if they all go together then he wouldn’t be avoiding Jongin. It’s better than if they end up at home alone and he’s never been downtown yet.

 

“Yeah sounds like fun” Kyungsoo agrees “When are we leaving?”

 

~=+•+=~

 

_ 6th of July 2018, Downtown Angang-Eup, South Korea _

 

“Too bad Chanyeol and Baekhyun didn’t want to come, I think Chanyeol would really like this record shop” Kyungsoo says looking through the bin to see if they had his favourite album. 

 

“This is getting a bit boring though we don’t even have a record player” Luhan whines “Can’t we go to the shoe store?”

 

“We could split up! Shoe store and then a hairdresser, I want brown hair” Yixing says excitedly.

 

“I think that would be a good colour for you!” Junmyeon agrees “Plus Luhan might want a haircut.”

 

“Why would I want that?” Luhan asks confused “My hair is fine!”

 

“It’s fine for the 1300s but I agree, really long hair on men is a tad out of style” Jongin adds “Might want something that blends in better.”

 

“Great it’s decided! I’ll take Luhan and Tao to the stores they want and you guys can stay here!” Junmyeon says leading the others out of the store.

 

“We should go to that boutique down the corner and try on their hats” Jongin suggests “Luhan’s right we really can’t buy these anyways.”

 

“Alright sure let’s go!” Kyungsoo says.

 

They walk in silence as Kyungsoo is deep in thought. Being alone with Jongin isn’t nearly as bad as he thought. Chanyeol was right they are friends after all, his discovery of his crush hasn’t done much to change that. He’s more aware of the way he reacts to Jongin’s smile but other than that he’s ok... at least he thinks he is. 

 

“Kyungsoo are you ok?” Jongin asks “I heard you slept on the couch, did you not sleep well?”

 

“It was fine, my neck hurt a bit in the morning but it’s gone now” Kyungsoo says keeping his eyes on the sidewalk as they walk. 

 

“Chanyeol should have carried you upstairs” Jongin urges “I would have done it myself if he had told me.”

 

“It’s ok Nini, it was late and you were probably asleep” Kyungsoo says looking up at Jongin with a soft smile “Look we’re here!”

 

The boys have a fun time trying on all kinds of hats and scarves and doing impressions of people. They [ laugh  ](https://data.whicdn.com/images/90624858/large.jpg) so much one of the staff people tells them if they get louder they might kick them out of the store. 

 

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard you laugh that loud” Jongin says giggling “Is my impression of Tao that funny?”

 

“It was pretty accurate!” Kyungsoo smiles widely “I think it’s just fun spending time just us alone.”

 

“You’re right!” Jongin agrees “I’ve missed it, remember how we’d go out for dinner every Friday? We should do that.”

 

“That was so expensive and you made me pay almost every time!” Kyungsoo yells. 

 

“Well I am younger” Jongin defends.

 

“If we do that again I’m not paying!” Kyungsoo says firmly “I actually don’t have any money at all.”

 

“We could beg Tao” Jongin suggests with a smirk. 

 

“You’re ridiculous!”

  
  



	11. And Then There Were 12

_6th of July 2018, Tao’s house, South Korea_

 

“We’re home!” Junmyeon announces “Is Tao back yet?”

 

“I am!” Tao says walking into the foyer from the living room “And I brought...”

 

“Hey” a tall man says in English following him out “I’m Kris or Yifan whatever you prefer.”

 

“What did he say?” Junmyeon asks “My English isn’t great.”

 

“He said-” Kyungsoo and Yixing say in unison.

 

“Sorry you go” Yixing says to Kyungsoo.

 

“He said his name is Kris” Kyungsoo translates “Does he not have a translator patch?”

 

“Not yet” Tao responds “He should be fine around anyone who speaks Chinese or English though so not a huge deal.”

 

“So he’s the dragon?” Junmyeon asks cocking an eyebrow “I thought you said he was five.”

 

“Right well I might have timed things wrong, I found him in 2010 actually, in Canada... it’s a long story.” Tao mumbles “I’ll explain in a bit.”

 

“What are they saying?” Kris asks Tao.

 

“I’m Kyungsoo, this is Jongin we speak English, Yixing speaks weird pirate English but he speaks Chinese too so you can talk to him and Luhan also speaks Chinese” Kyungsoo says walking closer to Kris “Wait do you speak Cantonese or Mandarin?”

 

“Cantonese” Kris answers.

 

“Then you’ll want to stick to the English speakers till you get that patch” Jongin explains “Welcome to the house, we can give you a tour if you want!”

 

“Sure”

 

“Well you’ve seen the living room-” Jongin says walking towards the dining room.

 

“2010?” Junmyeon asks Tao after they sit in the living room “Why didn’t we just find him here?”

 

“I didn’t know his name so I was just trying to find a boy with a crossbow bolt in his foot” Tao explains “Somehow my calculations were off and I found him in a cafe in Vancouver, as an adult.”

 

“So how did you know it was him?” Luhan asks curiously.

 

“I didn’t! He recognized me and apparently he was desperate for answers about what happened to him”  Tao explains.

 

“What did happen to him?” Luhans asks.

 

“Well I’m a bit confused myself... apparently he ended up in Canada somehow...” Tao says “You know how our powers do weird things when we get emotional? I guess I moved him through not only time but space as well...”

 

“That’s good because he clearly got the medical attention he needed.” Junmyeon comments “So he was ok just coming to the future?”

 

“Yeah, apparently he didn’t want to join our group when he was like 8 years older than even the oldest in our group” Tao says “I think his exact words were ‘that would be too weird, I’ll just go to 2018 with you’ so yeah I brought him.”

 

“He shouldn’t have a hard time fitting in then...” Luhan says “Well that was easy.”

 

“Easy? I’ve been bouncing around time searching for him for like what? A month? Easy...” Tao sighs.

 

“But you found him and everything is fine now” Junmyeon says scooching toward Zitao to wrap his arm around him.

 

“Your love seems pure, I approve” Luhan says in Mandarin so Junmyeon won’t understand “Goodnight.”

 

“What- Luhan!” Tao says wide-eyed. Did Luhan remember what Tao told him... did he just give them his blessing-

 

“What did he say?” Junmyeon asks “I feel so lame at languages. All I know is French and I can’t exactly speak French with anyone.”

 

“Uh... he said he was tired” Tao lies “and French is beautiful you should be proud.”

 

“Thanks Taozi” Junmyeon says leaning his head on his shoulder.

 

“Hey guys, we were going to play Never Have I Ever want to join?” Baekhyun says walking in with Chanyeol, Yixing and Sehun.

 

“Sure!” Junmyeon agrees “I better not regret this.”

 

“I think I’ll head to bed, I’m getting tired” Tao says “Time travel can be draining but you guys have fun!”

 

“Ok let’s do this!” Chanyeol says “I’ll start, never have I ever... given myself a terrible haircut”

 

“You are literally just trying to make me lose” Baekhyun says putting down a finger. “Choppy bangs were a style... kinda”

 

“My turn?” Sehun asks, everyone nods “Ok... never have I ever gotten a tattoo.”

 

Chanyeol and Yixing put their fingers down.

 

“Yixing? Where?” Junmyeon asks curiously.

 

“Not telling” Yixing laughs.

 

“Sounds dirty” Baekhyun smirks “Ok well on that note, never have I ever had a one night stand.”

 

“Baekhyun you can’t say things you’ve done” Chanyeol says.

 

“I have not! I’ve only had relationships or you know an fwb situation” Baekhyun clarifies.

 

Junmyeon, Yixing and Chanyeol all put their fingers down.

 

“Yixing?” Chanyeol asks “Wow you were really wild for your time huh”

 

Yixing shrugs “Ok well my turn, let’s have Sehunnie put his finger down, shall we? Never have I ever... been voted best looking in school”

 

Sehun, of course, puts his finger down.

 

“Wow, I’m jealous, not that I don’t see why” Baekhyun winks.

 

They play a few more rounds before Kyungsoo and Jongin decide to join them after showing Kris to his room.

 

“Never have I ever slept naked” Kyungsoo says.

 

“Hyung!” Jongin whines “Why are you attacking me!”

 

Kyungsoo just smirks at him. Jongin and Baekhyun both put their fingers down.

 

“Great now I’m out!” Baekhyun sighs.

 

“Wait, hold up didn’t you and Chanyeol sleep in the same room?” Jongin asks “I at least sleep in another room or did anyways.”

 

“Yes... let’s not think about this too much” Chanyeol says slightly traumatized.

 

“What so being naked in a spa is fine but in a bedroom it’s not?” Baekhyun asks.

 

“Ok moving on, never have I ever eaten a mango” Chanyeol says changing the subject.

 

Everyone but Yixing and Chanyeol put a finger down.

 

“Hey guys can we join?” Jongdae asks walking in with Minseok.

 

They play till there are only a few people left, it comes down to Chanyeol, Jongin, Kyungsoo and Jongdae.

 

“Wait how is it fair Jongdae is winning, he joined later! I vote they have to put down at least two fingers!” Sehun whines

 

“Then I’ll only have one life left!” Jongdae argues

 

“Good” Jongin smirks “I’m going to win.”

 

“Fine whatever but it’s my turn so you’ll have to wait” Jongdae says before thinking of a question so Chanyeol will have to put down his last finger “Never have I ever had a crush on a friend”

 

Kyungsoo’s smile drops.

 

“I’m actually not feeling well, you guys finish I forfeit” Kyungsoo says before quickly getting up and leaving.

 

“I’ll talk to him” Chanyeol and Jongin say at the same time.

 

“I just lost anyways so, you guys continue.” Chanyeol says before standing up and running after Kyungsoo.

 

“But-” Jongin starts but Chanyeol is already gone.

 

Chanyeol can see that the light of the bathroom is on, clearly Kyungsoo is in it.

 

“Kyungsoo, it’s me” Chanyeol says “I’m alone, do you want to talk?”

 

Chanyeol can hear the lock click open, he’s taking that as a yes.

 

“Are you ok?” Chanyeol asks walking in.

 

Kyungsoo sighs and runs a hand through his hair.

 

“I’m fine, I just... I’m tired I guess” Kyungsoo admits “I didn’t want to face him when I put my finger down but I guess I’ll have to now anyways.”

 

“I’m not going to lie, it wasn’t the most subtle reaction” Chanyeol says leaning on the sink “You’ll have time to think this way though, think of an excuse.”

 

“Do I have to keep lying?” Kyungsoo asks “We already lied about the couch thing, he was worried.”

 

“He was?” Chanyeol asks a bit confused “What was he even worried about?”

 

“He tends to care about his friend’s wellbeing a lot” Kyungsoo smiles “He’s very sweet and precious.”

 

“He’s a cute kid” Chanyeol agrees.

 

“He’s only two years young than you” Kyungsoo smiles.

 

“Ehh whatever he’s a baby like Sehun” Chanyeol smiles back, his plan to cheer Kyungsoo up worked.

 

“What should I tell him?” Kyungsoo asks.

 

“Be honest, just leave out who it’s about” Chanyeol suggests “If you don’t want to lie that’s the best way around it. Might be hard because you only really know the people in this house and people from your time but just let him make the assumption.”

 

“What if he knows it’s him?” Kyungsoo asks.

 

“Did you tell him?” Chanyeol replies.

 

“Well obviously I didn’t”

 

“Then he can’t know” Chanyeol says “He could suspect but he comes off a little... how do I say this politely, oblivious?”

 

“Yeah you’re right he never catches on when girls like him” Kyungsoo says feeling better “I’m still going to head to bed since I lost.”

 

“I’m going to head back, I’d like to see how it turns out” Chanyeol says opening the bathroom door “Text me if you need me to come talk to you again though, ok?”

 

“Got it”

 

~=+•+=~

 

“Luhan!” Tao calls when he sees him walking towards his room from the bathroom “I was wondering what you meant earlier.”

 

“About Junmyeon? He is the one you love isn’t he?” Luhan says turning towards Tao.

 

“Love is a strong word...”

 

Luhan rolls his eyes.

 

“Fine, he’s the one you care for” Luhan rephrases “I’ve spent all day with him and I think you are a good match.”

 

“You do?” Tao asks “You’re not against it?”

 

“Because you are both men? No” Luhan answers “I talked to Minseok and he talked about gay penguins which I didn’t really get but the over message was that love is better than hate. I agree with that so I do not care who someone chooses to love as long as no one is hurt.”

 

“That’s very wise of you” Tao says rather surprised.

 

“What do I know anyways, no need to judge others” Luhan shrugs “I do think you and Junmyeon would have a strong relationship though, you should talk to him.”

 

“That’s sweet but I don’t think it’s a good idea” Tao sighs sadly “We are friends and I don’t want to put that in jeopardy.”

 

“Your loss” Luhan says nonchalantly “I don’t agree but it’s your choice. I don’t think Junmyeon would agree with you either.”  

 

“Why?” Tao says his interest spiked “What makes you say that?”

 

“I shouldn’t say, wouldn’t want to jeopardize your friendship” Luhan smiles starting to walk to his room. “Good night Tao!”

 

“Luhan!”

 

“Luhan’s not asleep yet?” Kyungsoo asks just walking upstairs.

 

“How much did you hear?” Tao asks scared.

 

“Nothing, I didn’t even see Luhan” Kyungsoo answers honestly “Why?”

 

“No reason, why aren’t you playing with the others” Tao asks.

 

“I lost” Kyungsoo answers, bless his acting ability. Now to learn how to use it when his crush is involved.

 

“Oh that’s too bad” Tao says “Are you going to bed too?”

 

“Yeah-”

 

“Kyungsoo!” Jongin yells while running up the stairs “Are you ok?”

 

“I’m fine Jongin, just drop it” Kyungsoo says firmly not turning around to look at his friend.

 

“I’ll just leave” Tao says feeling rather awkward.

 

“You know you can talk to me” Jongin says sadly “I’m here for you.”

 

“I know” Kyungsoo sighs turning to face him “I just don’t want to talk about it.”

 

“You’ll talk to Chanyeol but not me?” Jongin frowns.

 

“That’s not-” Kyungsoo starts, there’s really no avoiding the subject. Jongin is not going to stop. “Let’s just go in our room ok?”

 

Jongin nods and they both walk to their room and sit on their beds.

 

“Was it about the question?” Jongin asks sympathetically.

 

“Yes” Kyungsoo confirms “I like a friend and it sucks, I don’t like thinking about it.”

 

“I’m sorry Kyungsoo” Jongin says getting off his bed to hug his friend “I’m sorry you have to go through this, if I had known, I wouldn’t have agreed to go to the future.”

 

“Wha- Oh yeah” Kyungsoo mumbles hoping Jongin didn’t catch that, it’s best he thinks it’s someone from their past.

 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Jongin asks still not letting Kyungsoo out of his embrace.

 

“Because it’s one-sided anyways” Kyungsoo says manipulating the truth a bit, that’s not really why “I’ll get over it.”

 

“I’m sure it hurts though,” Jongin says holding him tighter “knowing you can’t with be them.”

 

Kyungsoo tries his very best not to cry. Jongin’s right, it hurts. It hurts knowing he’ll never feel the same way. It hurts knowing Jongin will probably find someone else. It hurts being held by him but only out of pity. Kyungsoo doesn’t even notice when his tears wet Jongin’s sweater.

 

“Kyungsoo I’m sorry, that was probably the last thing I should have said” Jongin says realizing his mistake “Do you want to sleep in my bed tonight?”

 

Kyungsoo should say no, he shouldn’t give in when Jongin doesn’t know how he feels. He shouldn’t hurt himself either by agreeing when he knows Jongin only loves him as a friend.

 

“Yes” he says softly crying into Jongin’s arm a little more.

 

~=+•+=~

 

_13th of July 2018, Tao’s house, South Korea_

 

“I think you’ll all be glad to know that after almost a year’s wait for some of you” Tao starts “I will be revealing the mission details.”

 

Tao hands out files to everyone sitting at the dining table, currently being used as a meeting table.

 

“Mission EXO?” Junmyeon asks “That’s the project name?”

 

“Yes, the government picked it out. Don’t ask me why because I had nothing to do with it.” Tao says “In the year 2132, my year, 13 nuclear bombs went off. They killed most of North and South America along with the southern half of Africa. The perpetrators were a group that calls themselves the Red Force. ”

 

“I’m so sorry Tao” Chanyeol says shocked at the news.

 

“It’s ok because we are going to prevent it.” Tao says firmly “Time science is still not well understood but it is known that small actions often have little effect on the future. It’s the opposite of the ripple theory many of you have heard about. The action will have the biggest impact right after it is changed, but in 10, 20, 30 years the difference will be unnoticeable. To change the future in the way we want to, we will have to eliminate the entirety of the Red Force organization. It will take a huge change for us to prevent this attack but trained professionals have worked out the best plan of attack for this to go smoothly.”

 

“So the organization exists now?” Kris asks.

 

“Yes, they do. They’ve existed for about 50 years from what our records show.” Tao explains “This is the year they started getting some political power so we’ve decided it’s the best time to take them down without worry of them coming back.”

 

“So how are we going to do that? Unlike you we aren’t spies, we hardly have our powers mastered” Minseok adds.

 

“That’s fine, I’ll handle the planning. You just need to follow instructions” Tao says “Which brings me to my next point, I can’t give orders. First of all, I’m not good at it. Secondly, it would be too much if I’m also sort of like the lead strategist of this mission. Who would like to be the leader?”

 

Kris and Junmyeon simultaneously put their hands up.

 

“Great, we’ll probably end up splitting up so it’s best to have two leaders anyways” Tao says “Our first task will just be data collection.”

 

“It says we have to travel to Gangneung? Isn’t that on the other side of the country?” Baekhyun asks.

 

“It is but I will get us all plane tickets” Tao explains “The only difficult parts will be actually trying to find their base since we aren’t exactly sure where it is. My plan is to rent a few campers and drive until we can locate it.”

 

“How long would that take?” Junmyeon asks “Even with the tracking tech from the future we’re going to need to cover a large area based on this map.”

 

“You’re right it could take up to a week but we can work while we do that” Tao says “Like Minseok said we should still be practicing with our powers.”

 

“Wait” Kyungsoo says “If we change the future how will we even know, doesn’t this become some sort of paradox?”

 

“Honestly, I try not to think about it too much” Tao answers scrunching his face “I and anyone I use my power on, will remember both timelines though. I’ve tested it.”

 

“Is that all for today?” Jongdae asks

 

“Yes, as always it’s encouraged to practice with your powers but today is just for processing this information” Tao explains “I’ll go book the plane tickets though and tell you what day we’ll be leaving”

 

While Junmyeon and Tao work out a flight schedule, rent campers and plan anything else they might need for the first part of the mission the others decide to go to the local public pool to enjoy the beautiful sunny day. Tao’s pool is nice but a bit cramped for 10 people.

 

“I thought I heard noise!” Junmyeon says walking into the foyer with a huge smile “Welcome back guys! We booked the flight, 12 seats on one flight isn’t easy to find but we did it! We’re leaving tomorrow at 4pm. We have a hotel booked for tomorrow night too”

 

“We’ll be pairing up for the rooms” Tao says “We could just pair up people who already share rooms but honestly it’s up to you if you want to change things up.”

 

“I’m rooming with Tao though” Junmyeon says walking beside to lean his head on Tao.

 

Luhan smiles widely, hopefully, they talked like he advised. The action wasn’t unnoticed by Jongdae either who pulls on Minseok’s arm in excitement.

 

“Well we should start packing I guess” Chanyeol says.

  
  
  
  



	12. Camping What is Love Style

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Always drink responsibly or not at all! Stay safe kids!

_14th of July 2018, Tao’s house, South Korea_

 

“Ok, 6 t-shirts, 2 long sleeves, PJs, toiletries, socks, 3 pairs of shorts...” Minseok says looking at his packed suitcase “Should I bring my neck pillow?”

 

“Why not” Jongdae responds wrapping a bottle in a leakproof plastic bag.

 

“Are you packing Soju?” Minseok asks his friend, looking straight at the bottle.

 

“Tao said we might do a campfire!” Jongdae says excitedly “Everyone’s above the legal drinking age so I thought it would be fun!”

 

“Chanyeol and Baekhyun are making you wreckless” Minseok sighs.

 

“I was always like this” Jongdae winks “I just don’t have anyone breathing down my neck telling me how princes must act. This is way more fun.”

 

“We aren’t just doing this trip for fun though” Minseok says “Remember we’re doing data collection and practicing our powers”

 

“We could have done that from home and Tao could have gone alone” Jongdae points out “I’m pretty sure this is another bonding thing more than anything else.”

 

“I didn’t think of that” Minseok pauses “You’re probably right.”

 

“See” Jongdae smiles “Alcohol is a great idea after all.”

 

“I didn’t say that-”

 

~=+•+=~

 

The flight goes over well. Even for first-time flyers like Luhan, Jongdae and Minseok. Luhan certainly freaks out the most, but Tao and Junmyeon who are sitting with him, calm him down. Jongdae and Minseok are more excited than anything else, they end up taking turns sitting in the window seat.

 

When the boys finally get out of the airport it’s 6:46 pm so they all go to a restaurant near their hotel. They eat while sharing stories and learning a lot more about each other. The walk to their hotel since it’s only a 7-minute walk. Once they finally get checked in it’s already 12:45 am.

 

“Ok so I have all the keys” Tao says walking back to the group “What did we decide for the rooms?”

 

“I’ll room with little Sehunnie!” Baekhyun says grabbing a key “302? So on the third floor? Alright, let’s go Sehun.”

 

“Well that’s the first I’m hearing about that” Chanyeol says a little surprised, he was looking forward to staying in a hotel with his best friend.

 

“That’s ok Chanyeol” Kyungsoo says rubbing his back lightly “I can room with you.”

 

“Thanks Soo” Chanyeol smiles.

 

“Who will I share a room with?” Jongin pouts.

 

“I’ll room with you Jongin” Yixing says with a smile “We’ll have fun! I brought candy we can share”

 

“I assume Minseok and Jongdae will share a room, so Kris and Luhan are you ok together?” Tao asks hoping Kris isn’t still mad at Luhan for trying to kill him.

 

“Yeah! I’m good with that” Kris nods.

 

“Alright, good night everyone!” Tao says “Let’s meet in the breakfast room at 9am tomorrow morning.”

 

Everyone nods in agreement and heads off to their rooms.

 

~=+•+=~

 

After breakfast, the group has to check out of the hotel since they only got rooms for one night. A slight miscalculation of Tao’s part means they’ll all have to walk 30 minutes to get to the car rental place so they can pick up their campers. It’s not a terrible day for a walk, light breeze, not too hot but still sunny, the only issue is they have to drag their luggage with them.

 

“How did you pack a weeks worth of stuff in a carry on” Jongin asks Kyungsoo looking at the tiny suitcase Kyungsoo is pulling.

 

“I’m efficient” Kyungsoo shrugs “How was sharing a room with Yixing?”

 

“Fun!” Jongin smiles “He’s kinda weird but in the best way, did you know he was a dancer?”

 

“He dances?” Kyungsoo asks “I thought he was a doctor?”

 

“He’s both!” Jongin smiles “I taught him one of my choreographies from school and he did really well. We only practiced for a few hours and it was cramped but it was still really good”

 

“That’s good to hear Jongin!” Kyungsoo smiles “I’m glad you got to dance again.”

 

“I should show you sometime” Jongin says throwing his free arm around Kyungsoo “Have I ever danced for you?”

 

“No, you haven’t” Kyungsoo says trying to keep his heart rate stable. He’s really trying to get over this crush but Jongin is not making it easy, especially not with that cologne. Who brings cologne on a road trip anyways? At least he had one night without him. Chanyeol makes a good distraction.

 

“Kyungsoo” Jongin frowns “You spaced out again, are you sure you’re ok?”

 

“Yeah” Kyungsoo dismisses pulling his best attempt at a smile while his thoughts race “Just a bit tired, maybe thirsty. I’m going to ask Junmyeon if he has water.”

 

“How much longer?” Sehun whines “I’m exhausted!”

 

“15 minutes tops Sehunnie” Junmyeon is really starting to feel like a mom “We’re almost there.”

 

“Hyung do you have any water?” Kyungsoo asks catching up Junmyeon leaving Jongin alone.

 

“No, Kyungsoo, I don’t” Junmyeon says sternly, feeling rather exhausted “We’ll be there soon you can drink there.”

 

“Ok” Kyungsoo says feeling like he’s acting like a spoiled brat, he isn’t is he? “I’m sorry I asked.”

 

“N- Sorry I didn’t mean it like that” Junmyeon corrects realizing what he said “I’m just carrying the surveillance tech and it’s very heavy. How about you ask Kris? He probably has a bottle.”

 

“We can switch luggage if you want hyung” Jongin says smiling “Mine’s mostly clothes so it’s lighter.”

 

“Thank you that would be lovely” Junmyeon smiles.

 

As predicted, it took them 15 minutes to arrive at the rental place. Luckily the staff were ready for their arrival and handed them the keys very quickly.

 

“So we rented 3 campers, each has enough room for 4 people don’t worry.” Junmyeon explains to the group “There are two double beds in each, I know it’s hard to believe but it’s true. The first night we will be camping though.”

 

“I brought tents for everyone, one person per tent and they are rather nice” Tao smiles “It’s a little future gift you could say.”

 

“Do they have AC or something?” Baekhyun asks.

 

“And a TV with internet, yes.” Tao answers “There’s very little sound isolation though so it still gives a camping experience in a way.”

 

“Sweet!” Jongdae yells with a huge smile.

 

“Alright, let’s get in the campers!” Junmyeon says “Jongdae, Minseok, Tao and I will be in one, Chanyeol, Baekhyun, Yixing and Luhan in another and the last one will be Kyungsoo, Jongin, Kris and Sehun. That way there’s at least two drivers per vehicle.”

 

Despite spending the entire day scanning the area for any signs of a base, they got nothing. It wasn’t unexpected and they are planning to spend a week scanning. When the sun starts to set they park the campers at a somewhat secluded campground, it would be best for locals to not see their super high tech tents.

 

Once they all set up their tents, which consists of hitting a button and putting their luggage inside, they all sit by the campfire.

 

“Kris can we please just use a match” Jongdae asks “You’ve been trying to light that for 4 minutes.”

 

“I was a boy scout!” Kris defends “I did this all the time!”

 

“Keyword: was” Baekhyun points out “Chanyeollie why don’t you do it?”

 

“Oh uh” Chanyeol pauses, everyone shouts out words of encouragement “I’m not sure.”

 

“Please?” Baekhyun pouts “I want to see your power, I haven’t seen it yet!”

 

“Ok” Chanyeol says still a little unsure. He gets up off the log he was sitting on and moves closer to the fire. He can do this. Just think passionate thoughts.

 

“Go Chanyeol!” Kyungsoo yells.

 

The flame appears growing and growing in size until the campfire is roaring. Everyone claps and Chanyeol smiles widely.

 

“You did it!” Baekhyun says excitedly when Chanyeol sits back down beside him.

 

“Yeah I did!” Chanyeol says, proud of his accomplishment.

 

“Bring out the marshmallows!” Jongdae yells, followed by Minseok [ singing ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tk_H8AB240) the marshmallow song quietly.

 

“You’re so cute” Jongdae coos singing at his friend “[ Minseokiki ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RE_oHlJMxkM)”

 

They spent the night roasting marshmallows and laughing. Naturally, Jongdae also brings out the alcohol. Tao warns them all about drinking responsibly, they will need to be able to work tomorrow. At one point they even tell scary stories which leads to a very terrified Tao requiring _a lot_ of comfort for Jumyeon.

 

“Jongin show everyone your dancing!” Yixing yells feeling a little giggly, he’s never had soju before but doesn’t mind its effects.

 

“I don’t know” Jongin says feeling a little shy.

 

“Kim Jongin! Kim Jongin!” Yixing chants and others join in.

 

“Ok! Ok!” Jongin says getting up smiling “I have one dance I can perform. Kyungsoo, hit play when I nod”

 

Kyungsoo takes Jongin’s phone and waits for the signal. He reads the title off the phone screen, “[ I see you ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubgOJoBAne4)”, he’s never heard that song before. He’s quite excited to see Jongin dance but he’s worried that being a bit tipsy might make it hard for him to hide his reaction. Being in awe is normal though right? He’ll be fine.

 

The music starts and Jongin starts dancing. His moves are somehow fluid but sharp at the same time, he moves so perfectly. Kyungsoo fully understands why he was accepted early, he’s literally a dancing God. Aside from Jongin’s incredible talent, the choreography itself is incredibly sexy. Jongin’s facial expressions are matching the tone of the song and dance perfectly. He feels almost attacked by Jongin’s intense gaze but he knows it’s just part of the act. Kyungsoo has literally never seen Jongin look like that, really makes him feel like he’s looking at a whole other person. A really, _really_ attractive person, his heart feels like it’s beating so fast it could burst. Are those smirks actually legal?

 

“Kyungsoo, your nose is bleeding” Chanyeol says from across the fire.

 

“What?” Kyungsoo brings his hand to his nose and looks at it, he really is bleeding. Isn’t that supposed to be an anime cliche? “Shit!”

 

Kyungsoo runs out before the song finishes. He stops running when he can’t see the fire anymore.

 

“Kyungsoo!” Jongin calls “Are you ok, what happened?”

 

Jongin better be very, very oblivious or this is going to get very awkward very quickly. Thank God it’s dark enough outside he probably won’t notice the blush on his cheeks or... anything else.

 

“My nose started bleeding” Kyungsoo says “I think it’s the pollen or something.”

 

“Here, tilt your head forwards, you could choke” Jongin says worried “and pinch your nose.”

 

Kyungsoo pinches the bottom of his nose.

 

“Like dis?” Kyungsoo says in a weird duck voice.

 

“No, not at all” Jongin laughs at the voice “Here I’ll do it.”

 

Jongin pinches the bridge of Kyungsoo’s nose completely focused on his task. Kyungsoo meanwhile is freaking out, Jongin has his hand on his face and Jongin’s face is very close to his own. He can practically feel Jongin’ breath on cheeks. Jongin’s lips are so soft looking up close. If he moved a little closer... No! He’s supposed to move on not have these thoughts. Think of something else, anything else. Chanyeol voice is deep. Wait, Chanyeol?

 

“Kyungsoo you need to take slower breaths” Jongin explains “I know it’s scary but you’ll be fine. It will stop soon, especially if you calm down.”

 

Calm down? How can he do that?

 

“I’m good Nini” Kyungsoo says, trying is very best to stay calm “You can let go I think it’s done. I’m just gonna uh go to bed.”

 

“Wait Kyungsoo” Jongin says hoping to get Kyungsoo’s attention as Kyungsoo walks to his tent “Why have you been acting differently recently?”

 

“What you mean?” Kyungsoo says staying calm.

 

“You’ve been jumpier and every time I try to hug you, you leave” Jongin says with a sad expression “Did I do something?”

 

“No!” Kyungsoo says rushing over to Jongin, fuck he made Jongin sad “No it’s not you at all I promise, I think I might just be homesick or something I’m sorry for avoiding you.”

 

“You never talk to me anymore” Jongin continues “I feel like I’m losing you.”

 

“Jongin you could never lose me, no one could ever replace you. I promise you. No one could even come close.” Kyungsoo says pulling Jongin for a hug.

 

“What about when you date someone and fall in love?”

 

“I don’t care who I’m dating, you’re always going to be my best friend. Nothing can change that.” Kyungsoo says but his heart sinks at the idea of him dating someone other than Jongin. He should really get used to the idea.

 

They stand hugging like that for a while until Jongin feels better.

 

“Did you like my dance?” Jongin asks pulling out of the hug.

 

“It was amazing Jongin” Kyungsoo smiles trying not to remember the details “You’re everything people said and more.”

 

“Thanks, hyung” Jongin smiles so brightly.

 

“You should go back to the group, they’re probably waiting for you” Kyungsoo says “I am actually really tired so I’ll just wash up and get some sleep.”

 

Despite everything that happened he’s still not sure his treacherous thoughts won’t come back to torture him so, he’s better off being alone.

 

“Ok” Jongin agrees “Goodnight”

 

“Goodnight Nini” Kyungsoo smiles.

 

~=+•+=~

 

Jongin knows it’s wrong to eavesdrop. He knows he should open the tent door and make sure they know he’s awake, but he can’t help but stay where he is. He needs to know why Kyungsoo has been acting weird recently. If it’s not his fault then what is it? If he opens the door and goes outside Chanyeol and Kyungsoo will stop talking and he’ll never know. He listens carefully making sure he doesn’t make any noise.

 

“I should tell him Chanyeol” Kyungsoo says sounding defeated “I can’t keep lying to him.”

 

Lying to who? What’s Kyungsoo lying about?

 

“I don’t think you should” Chanyeol responds “It will probably upset him.”

 

“Why though?” Kyungsoo asks sadly “There’s nothing wrong with it, I’m not hurting him!”

 

“No, of course, you aren’t hurting Jong-” Chanyeol gets cut off.

 

Jong? Jongdae? Or... are they talking about him?

 

“I’m hurting him now! He keeps asking why I’m acting differently and I can’t handle it!” Kyungsoo yells.

 

“Keep your voice down! Someone might wake up and hear you!” Chanyeol hushes.

 

“Who cares? Why should I care if someone knows I’m in love with-” Kyungsoo yells again before he’s muffled, probably by Chanyeol’s hand.

 

Who? His crush? From the 90s?

 

“Don’t! You’re not thinking straight!” Chanyeol says firmly “How much did you drink?”

 

“Not thinking straight? Ha, can’t think straight if you aren’t” Kyungsoo replies.

 

Kyungsoo’s not straight? How long has he known? How much is Kyungsoo hiding?

 

“Listen Kyungsoo let’s just get you back to your tent” Chanyeol says calmly.

 

“You coming in with me?” Kyungsoo says in a tone Jongin has never heard before.

 

“No you’re drunk” Chanyeol says before gasping.

 

What’s going on? Maybe if he just peaks in he could see-

 

“Kyungsoo stop!” Chanyeol says.

 

Jongin stops right away. They’ll see him, he cannot peak. He’s not risking figuring out what’s been going on with his friend.

 

“We went over this last night, you promised we wouldn’t” Chanyeol says so quietly Jongin can barely hear “We can’t do this now.”

 

“Why? Fuck that!” Kyungsoo says sounding mad “I hate that rule! You stand there with your morals and your logic but I don’t care so why should you?”

 

“Kyungsoo-”

 

That’s it, he can’t handle it anymore, Kyungsoo is clearly drunk. Jongin should go out and take care of him!

 

“Kyung-” Jongin says unzipping the tent door.

 

Kyungsoo has his arms wrapped around Chanyeol’s neck pulling him down for a... rather heated kiss. Chanyeol’s clearly not as against it as he acted since his hands seem to be trailing down Kyungsoo’s back, dangerously low.

 

“Oh my God” Jongin yells.

 

“Jongin!” Kyungsoo snaps out of the kiss.

 

“Jongin! Are you ok? You’re breathing really hard?” Baekhyun asks.

 

What? Where-

 

“You were having a nightmare, it’s ok just take deep breaths” Baekhyun says trying to comfort his friends “It’s ok, it wasn’t real. You’re safe.”

 

“I-” Jongin clears his throat “I’m fine.”

 

“What were you dreaming about? You seemed like you were really freaking out” Baekhyun says with worry heavy in his voice. “I could hear you from my tent.”

 

“It’s nothing” Jongin dismisses “I’m ok”

 

Why did he dream that? Was it real? Did that happen last night?

 

“That didn’t sound like nothing” Baekhyun says concerned.

 

“It was just” Jongin starts before deciding to tell Baekhyun the truth, maybe he’ll comfort him “I dreamt about Chanyeol and Kyungsoo... together”

 

“Did you have a sex dream about them Jonginnie?” Baekhyun laughs.

 

“Ew! NO! That’s so gross I would have thrown up” Jongin says his face twisted in disgust “I was just listening to them talk and then they started...”

 

“Kissing? Making out? Was there groping?” Baekhyun teases with a huge smile.

 

“Stop! Stop talking!” Jongin says not wanting to relive it “but yes there was... that.”

 

“I mean that’s understandable Kyungsoo’s got a nice ass” Baekhyun smiles “You must have noticed if it was in _your_ dream.”

 

“Nightmare!” Jongin yells not at all feeling better about the whole dream situation “It was a nightmare!”

 

“Sure sure” Baekhyun laughs.

 

“I don’t know why I talked to you” Jongin frowns getting up to leave the tent “I don’t feel better at all.”

 

“Jongin wait!” Baekhyun grabs his arm before Jongin can leave “I’m just kidding.”

 

“Mean” Jongin mumbles.

 

“It was just a dream ok?” Baekhyun says seriously “It doesn’t mean anything except you think Chanyeol is stealing your friend. Just talk to Kyungsoo about how you feel, I’m sure he’ll understand and spend more time with you ok?”

 

“You don’t think it was maybe real?” Jongin asks swallowing hard “It could have happened last night.”

 

“Chanyeol spend the night in my tent” Baekhyun says “He hates sleeping in tents alone and trust me I would have noticed if he left. He woke me up every 30 minutes with his tossing and turning.”

 

“I’m sorry about that” Jongin says looking down “I’m kind of glad too though, since it wasn’t real.”

 

“Really feeling sympathy” Baekhyun smiles “Ok well let’s pack up”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I like being mean to the reader sometimes ;). Also if you’re wondering about the campers it was in what is love and I wanted to include it so.


	13. Let's Get Down To Business To Defeat The Hunts (Red Force)

_ 25th of July 2018, Tao’s house, South Korea _

 

“You guys look like you could use some help” Kris says walking into Tao’s office “I know my understanding of tech might be primitive but 3 minds are better than 2.”

 

“That’s not the-” Tao says getting cut off.

 

“That would be lovely Yifan” Junmyeon smiles brightly “We’re trying to find any kind of odd behaviour in these financial files.”

 

Kris picks up the files and briefly examines them.   

 

“These are all charities” he states.

 

“Yes, we think the Red Force might be disguising them as one” Tao explains “The only issue is they are definitely using a different name and M.O. then what my government has recorded in the future.” 

 

“This is the best we can do?” Kris asks “After we spend a week driving to find literally nothing, all we do is check finances? Surely there’s a better way to find them.”

 

“Well if you have a theory, I’m all ears” Tao sighs

 

“These people know about powers right? You said they tried to recruit Jongin and Kyungsoo” Kris says.

 

“Recruit might be the wrong word, I’m not sure they had peaceful intent.” Tao responds.

 

“Whatever, point is, they know about powers so check the internet for anything that seems like they might be trying to ‘recruit’” Kris says making quote marks with his fingers “people with powers.”

 

“Unfortunately we tried that and there was nothing credible” Junmyeon says soothingly “It was a good idea though.”

 

“Ok well did you check any obvious scams? If they are trying to trap people like us, they might have something like that” Kris proposes 

 

“Again nothing that matches, although we did report many of them to the government.” Tao says “Even if they weren’t trying to trap us, they were trying to lure other for... I don’t want to think about it”

 

“What about a fake medical clinic” Kris suggests “Naturopathy or something like that?”

 

“Why would a naturopathic clinic be sketchy?” Junmyeon asks. 

 

“It would be easy to use innuendos to lure people with powers without making others suspicious” Kris explains “Things like ‘cleans you of your troubles and train your inner force’ aren’t uncommon but with the right point of view you could get the message across that it’s about superhuman powers” 

 

“We can look into it...” Tao says thinking “It’s certainly worth a shot”

 

“Should I let the others know?” Junmyeon asks.

 

“We should keep them updated but I think it’s best they focus on practicing their powers” Tao answers “Other than Jongdae and Minseok who could probably help us out, the others really aren’t great at controlling their powers. We absolutely need to avoid friendly fire, quite literally in Chanyeol’s case.” 

 

~=+•+=~

_ 29th of July 2018, Tao’s house, South Korea _

 

“Welcome back to another combat training” Jongdae says smiling at the crowd of boys in the backyard “Despite Sehun almost catching on fire yesterday, thank you Chanyeol, we are still doing this since it’s clear we need more practice.”

 

“As always there’s a prize for the person who is most accurate” Minseok says happily “Everyone make your way to your dummy and practice those power combat moves!”

 

Aside from Kris, Junmyeon and Tao who are still looking through any results the computer spits out as ‘suspicious’, everyone makes their way to their dummy. Yixing is also absent from training since healing really can’t be an attack. Honestly, the idea of hurting someone makes him feel sick, he’s happy to sit this out. Although he does watch the boys and he will gladly be the judge for the accuracy prize. 

 

Minseok works on trying to freeze his dummy solid which is significantly time-consuming. He’ll have to think of a new strategy if he wants to be able to use it in combat. He’s thought about maybe only freezing major organs or even just cooling someone enough to render them unconscious without hurting them. But without something to practice it on, he’s left just trying to improve his freezing speed. He’s also tried creating ice spikes as an attack but again it becomes very time-consuming.

 

Luhan works on launching projectiles with more precision and from a farther distance. So far he’s been extremely successful and might win the prize again today. Where he’s lacking is more in defence. While everyone else can make some sort of shield out of ice, earth or even fire, Luhan can’t hold any sort of dense protective object near him for long without becoming tired, making it a truly awful defence. 

 

Junmyeon works on summoning water and holding it steady. Small amounts of water are incredibly easy to make but in combat, he might need a wave or enough to flood a room. He works on filling barrels of water as fast as he can. In addition to that, he tries to then keep that water around his dummy.  His dummy is special because it has a motor so it can move around violently. This is so he can practice holding water when something is pushing against it. It’s incredibly important because large amounts of uncontrolled water could be very dangerous. 

 

Baekhyun works on trying to make brighter and brighter light. It’s lame and tedious but he doesn’t know what else his dumb power could be used for. He tries to stay positive but seeing everyone else control the elements while he just tries to replace a light bulb is disheartening. Did Tao say he could create an eclipse? How can he do that by making light? Regardless of his thoughts, he continues to point beams of light at his light sensor and seeing if it’s brighter. 

 

Jongdae works on frying his dummy in the most controlled way possible. Unlike what he might have thought back during the Joseon era, he’d really rather not kill anyone. Even in glorious battle, times have changed and tasering someone sounds much better to him. He works on doing it very far away and even with his eyes closed. He’s not the most accurate but it’s also not going terribly. 

 

Chanyeol feeling a little more comfortable with his power starts trying to light his dummy on fire. Touching it is easy however he needs to learn to do it from a distance which is much harder than he expects. It’s like he has to throw a ring on to a hoop blindfolded. Needless to say, many fires  _ near _ the dummy are started. Practicing his aim without any tips from someone who’s already done it is very hard. At least he’s learned how to put the flames out using only his power, a trick that has saved them a lot of fire extinguishers. 

 

After a few rounds of teleporting into hula hoops laid out on the ground, Jongin sits on the sidelines. He’s practiced his accuracy the most he can without getting fully exhausted. While his power would be very useful for spying or quick escapes, it’s not really for combat. He watches everyone else practice and it is rather entertaining but he feels a bit lonely. He finds himself watching Kyungsoo and hoping he can beat Luhan for the accuracy prize. He did some cheerleading once as a joke but maybe he should really try it to encourage Kyungsoo, he’s bored anyways. 

 

Kyungsoo works on building shields, fissures are great but make building unstable and dangerous for anyone inside. If he can trap people in rock cages quickly enough it could be an incredible attack, the only issue is he’s really bad at it without touching the ground. If he is stuck in any kind of building, which will likely happen, he needs to get better. He’s currently standing on a wood box to mimic the issue. He works very hard before hearing chanting in the distance. He turns around and sees his adorable Nini jumping around saying cheering his name. His heart swells and he vows to win the prize just for Jongin. 

 

Sehun tries making tiny tornado cages around his dummy, it’s like Kyungsoo’s idea except he needs to make his tornados way stronger is he wants it to work. Knocking people over is so much easier and also rather effective so he might end up just doing that. 

 

After hours of training, Yixing tells everyone to stop and make their way back to the porch where he will be announcing the day’s winner. 

 

“Today’s winner is, drum roll please” Yixing smiles waiting for everyone to stomp their feet creating a drum roll “Congratulation Baekhyun, you have won today’s prize!”

 

“Me?” Baekhyun asks confused “But all I did was make light”

 

“You creating light bright enough to temporarily blind someone 45 times in a row” Yixing smiles “It’s very impressive! Of course, you’ll have to warn anyone you’re around in real combat but code words are easy to create, so it’s a very useful attack!” 

 

Baekhyun smiles brightly, he won! His power can really help them! Chanyeol comes over to congratulate him and he’s so happy he jumps into a hug.

 

“Woah” Chanyeol yells trying to keeping his balance. “Congrats Baekhyun!” 

 

“I’m so happy I could kiss you!” Baekhyun yells gleefully. 

 

“Uhhh” Chanyeol says getting a little scared, not that he wouldn’t want to but...

 

“Relax it’s just an expression!” Baekhyun laughs before winking. 

 

Wait did Chanyeol just imagine that part? He knows Baekhyun likes flirting, sometimes just as a joke but he can’t help but hope there’s something else to it. 

 

After training everyone is really exhausted, some of the guys watch a movie but Chanyeol decides to head to his room. He’s been working on a song recently and while it’s not for school or a priority in the grand scheme of things he really wants to finish it soon. He’s been feeling extremely inspired recently and he’s really proud of this song. He’s really poured his heart and soul into it. It may or may not be inspired by a certain someone he’s been developing feelings for. He sits on his bed with his guitar on his lap and starts strumming and hums along. Not that he’s bad at singing but he’d rather hear it sung by a different style of vocals. However, when the rap part comes up he starts rapping out loud. 

 

_ I keep laughing for some reason every night _

_ Even when I close my eyes, I can’t sleep _

_ I spend the entire night with thoughts of you _

_ Your sparkling smile lets me breathe _

_ Probably you, you _

_ I’m sure you have wings hidden behind your back _

_ Anyone can tell you’re my angel _

_ I can fly as long as I’m with you _

 

“That’s beautiful” Baekhyun says leaning on the door to their bedroom smiling at the sweet words. 

 

“Baekhyun!” Chanyeol says “You scared me!”

 

“Do you have the lyrics? Can I read them?” Baekhyun says ignoring Chanyeol and sits down beside Chanyeol. 

 

“Uh yeah” Chanyeol says grabbing the pages and handing them to Baekhyun “I’m still working on it but-”

 

“ _ Hello angel, you’re like a painting, You’re all I see when I look to the skies _ ” Baekhyun reads “ _ So you can’t fly back into the sky, Hold you down, keep you with me, Hug you,  _ This is adorable! Who knew you were so soft” he says nudging his friend with a huge smile. 

 

“Well I’ve just been feeling that way lately I guess” Chanyeol smiles lightly looking down at his hands.

 

“Oh?” Baekhyun says noticing the embarrassed behaviour “Who’s been making you feel like that Chanyeollie? Who’s your precious angel?”

 

“You” Chanyeol says without thinking, quickly realizing his mistake “Na, Yoona”

 

“Your niece?” Baekhyun asks a bit confused, this sounds more like a love song. 

 

“Yeah well she’s been so cute recently” Chanyeol lies looking anywhere but Baekhyun “Yoora always calls her ‘Mommy’s little angel’ so I thought she’d like this song. Anyways I have to take a hot shower, training’s been really draining.”

 

Chanyeol leaves the room leaving a thoroughly confused Baekhyun alone to reread the lyrics alone. Chanyeol did really need a long hot shower, he wasn’t lying he was really tired from training. Of course, when he left the room in a rush he forgot his PJs so he’s forced to just wrap a towel around his waist and get changed later. 

 

He walks to his room hoping no one will cross him in the hallway. It’s not that he’s ashamed of his body, he just feels really exposed. Oversized clothes have always been more his style than something that shows off his body.

 

“Hey Chanyeol!” Jongin yells walking towards him.

 

Chanyeol scrunches his face in frustration before turning around to face Jongin and Kyungsoo. Of course, the universe couldn’t cut him a break. 

 

“Why weren’t you there for the movie?” Jongin asks.

 

“I wasn’t in the mood” Chanyeol shrugs.

 

“You’re starring” Jongin whispers to Kyungsoo.

 

“Huh?” Kyungsoo snaps out of it, it’s not his fault Chanyeol has an amazing set of abs, not to mention his muscular thighs all glistening with water since he’s not fully dry yet. It’s physically difficult to pull his eyes away. Before coming to the future Kyungsoo really didn’t think he was into guys, but this has been a real wake up call. Maybe he really should have gone out more back in the 90s. 

 

“Well, goodnight guys” Chanyeol says awkwardly just wanting to get back to his room. 

 

Finally, he makes it to his room and can finally get in his comfy soft loose fitted PJs. 

 

“ _ Baby won’t you stay, I’ll love only you forever”  _ Baekhyun reads “For your niece? Sounds fishy to me.”

 

“It just sounded good ok?” Chanyeol says not really in the mood to defend himself half-naked in front of the person the song is actually about. “Can you leave so I can get changed?”

 

“No” Baekhyun says stubbornly “I’m staying.”

 

“Baekhyunnie please” Chanyeol begs.

 

“We’ve taken showers together” Baekhyun says nonchalantly “No need to be embarrassed.”

 

“That was when we were 4!” Chanyeol exclaims “At least turn around!”

 

Baekhyun stays where he is, unconvinced. Teasing Chanyeol is way too much fun. 

 

“Fine whatever” Chanyeol says turning around and getting changed as quickly as possible into his PJs.

 

“Lame show, too quick, I want my money back” Baekhyun says with his hand out asking for money. Chanyeol slaps it instead. 

 

“You’re such a little shit!” Chanyeol says shaking his head “Why were you watching?”

 

“Why are you pretending this song this about your niece” Baekhyun counters.

 

“Good night Baekhyun” Chanyeol says avoiding the question.

 

“Now who’s being the little shit.” Baekhyun mumbles to himself so quietly Chanyeol can’t hear  “You write a song about me but can’t say it to my face.”

 

~=+•+=~

 

_ 3rd of August 2018, Tao’s house, South Korea _

 

“Junmyeon put me in charge of this and just so we are clear” Minseok says sternly looking at all the boys in the backyard “I have actually been trained to fight to the death. I may be nice and comforting usually, but today I need to train you like your lives depend on it because they might.”

 

“I thought Minseok was supposed to be our helpful trainer” Chanyeol says to Jongdae while looking at the deadly glare Minseok is sporting “I’ve never seen him like this, I’m scared.”

 

“He’s killed people Chanyeol” Jongdae says back very seriously “Royal guard is no joke, he went in knowing he’d probably die to protect me.”

 

“I suggest you all wear your protective gear” Minseok says staring right at Chanyeol, clearly mad he was speaking “People will get hurt today, that’s why Yixing is here. He needs to practice too since he didn’t last week during training.”

 

“Isn’t that dangerous? I thought this was just going to be like our regular combat training” Baekhyun says getting worried, he has hapkido training but he’s never tried to hurt anyone before, much less his friends. 

 

“It’s more dangerous to go into battle without being ready, we’ve practiced fighting dummies and that’s good but it’s not like the real thing.” Minseok explains “We won’t be seriously hurting anyone either. At most a broken bone which will be quickly fixed by Yixing so there’s no real danger. Powers, of course, won’t be allowed. We don’t need someone burning alive or being struck by lightning that’s what practice dummies are for. We just need to practice reactions to real physical danger.”

 

“I’ll go first” Jongdae says walking towards Minseok “What do you say? Like old times?”

 

“I won’t be so easy on you this time”  Minseok smirks. 

 

“Neither will I”

 

As it turns out fighting friends isn’t easy. They try to use their full force but even though they know Yixing will fix any damage caused they can’t bring themselves to hurt each other. Minseok and Jongdae were the only ones to really try to fight. Minseok of course won but even they didn’t hurt each other. Minseok is still convinced they need to fight people for real to be ready but he can’t get them to agree so he gives in. The day turns more into friendly wrestling than anything else. 

 

“I have nine years of hapkido training” Baekhyun smiles “You can’t win.”

 

“Bring it on Byun” Chanyeol says trying to be threatening, it doesn’t really work.

 

Baekhyun starts by kicking Chanyeol’s stomach. Chanyeol who was completely unprepared is immediately knocked onto the ground rather inharmoniously. Baekhyun takes the chance to pin him down and waits for Chanyeol to tap out. Chanyeol, on the other hand, is having none of it, he grabs Baekhyun and throws him off.

 

While Hapkido gives Baekhyun the skills to kick and knock Chanyeol over and well as throw him to the ground it’s not about holding someone down. Since Chanyeol is bigger and stronger the fight comes down to skill vs force. Baekhyun still ends up winning a lot of points before Chanyeol mimics one of his throws and Baekhyun falls straight on the ground. Chanyeol not wasting a second gets on top of him and holds his arms down. 

 

“I’m winning” Baekhyun smiles.

 

“Baekhyun I’m literally on top of you” Chanyeol says confused. 

 

“I know” Baekhyun smirks suggestively. 

 

He takes the opportunity to push a flustered Chanyeol off him using both of his back legs. After that Baekhyun easily restrains Chanyeol and wins another point bringing the match to an end. 

 

By the end of the training session, the only injury was Jongin who got punched by Kyungsoo without realizing his own strength. Yixing did come in and fix it, according to him Kyungsoo managed to break his nose. Despite having it completely healed by Yixing, Jongin demanded a kiss on the nose from Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo agreed since he still felt really bad even though it was an accident. 

 

~=+•+=~

 

_ 5th of August 2018, Tao’s house, South Korea _

 

Finally, the research time narrowed down the sources to just 3 clinics. They each pick one clinic to call and essentially interview. They hint heavily about having superpowers and wanting to learn to control them. Two of the clinics respond as if they knew what they were talking about and proposed the exact same “detox program”. The details of which were so similar it wouldn’t be surprising if they were reading the same script. 

 

“So that’s it, right? We book appointments and split up, 4 people sign up for these treatments in each clinic as a distraction, Jongin will do some spy work in both and 3 people will sit back and monitor the situation in case we need backup or something.” Kris says reviewing their original plan from a week ago. 

 

“Yes, I think it should be me, Junmyeon and Luhan as monitors. I can’t really do much with my power in combat and Luhan would be good to have in case we need that back up you mentioned” Tao says. 

 

“I don’t think Junmyeon should stay back though, he should be in there. Water would be a useful power to have in a clinic full of fluids. Being a dragon, however, would not. So I think I should stay with you” Kris says to Tao. 

 

“You make a good point but...” Tao starts before looking at Junmyeon “Are you ok with that?”

 

“Yes” Junmyeon nods “I think it’s the smartest decision.”

 

“Ok well let’s call everyone and tell them the plan then” Kris says smiling. 

 

They go into the living room and call everyone over. After a few minutes, everyone arrives and they explain the plan to everyone. 

 

“So for the groups, we were thinking,” Junmyeon says “For the first clinic, Sehun Baekhyun Chanyeol, and Kyungsoo and the rest in the second.”

 

“Why can’t I go with Kyungsoo!” Jongin whines.

 

“Jongin you’re teleporting between the clinics to gather information, weren’t you listening when we explained that?" Junmyeon says getting frustrated, why is he always repeating himself. 

 

“The first clinic is much smaller, but they both seem to be about the same on the level of ‘care’” Tao starts “Remember we will give you panic buttons so if anything seems dangerous just push them, Jongin will be alerted as well as us and we’ll all come to get you out.”

 

“We will leave tomorrow morning,” Junmyeon says “Turns out they work like bathhouses so there’s no stress about being late! That’s all you can all go back to your last training session and we’ll even join you this time.”


	14. Into This Spa

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait but I'll upload all 3 chapters today! Also the chapter title is meant to be a play on CBX's "Into this world" not sure that's clear but.

_6th of August 2018, Pyeong Naturopathy, South Korea_

 

Baekhyun, Sehun, Chanyeol and Kyungsoo walk into the lobby. The room is beautiful and modern looking. The walls are painted sky blue, the check-in desk is made of lovely smooth birch and there are many potted plants beside the windows on the right and the left side of the room. They all walk up to the check-in desk, a little unsure of what to do next. The lady dressed in a straight fitted white dress looks at them, waiting for them to initiate a conversation. None of them want to talk first, why couldn’t Junmyeon be in their group?

 

“Hello” Baekhyun says finally taking leadership for group “We would like to see the treatment packages”

 

“You’ll need a consultation first” the lady says getting up from her chair and giving them clipboards with a form to fill out. “Also you’ll have to leave any electronics in a locker before entering, we don’t want harmful waves in the clinic.”

 

After filling the form out to the best of their abilities, needless to say Kyungsoo and Sehun lie about when they were born, they hand them back. They are then led into their separate consultation rooms.

 

They all answer the way Junmyeon and Kris told them they should, using very specific language to make it clear they have powers without outright saying it. Once the consultation is over they are all given treatment plans. Baekhyun gets assigned plan B04 whatever that means, Sehun gets O95, Chanyeol gets P61 and Kyungsoo gets D12. It’s odd they have different plans since they all answered similarly.

 

They are all then put in the change room to get into their Chemical Free™ clothes as well as rid themselves of electronics.

 

“How are we going to hide our panic buttons? Do you think they have metal detectors?” Kyungsoo asks skeptically.

 

“Well we’re only staying for 2 days so we should be fine anyways” Baekhyun shrugs.

 

“2 days? I’m staying for 12 days” Chanyeol says concerned “Are we not getting the same treatments?”

 

“I’m staying for two weeks” Kyungsoo says feeling really weird, why is he staying the longest? “I really might need that panic button.”

 

“Sehun?” Baekhyun asks “What about you?”

 

“I’m staying for 4” he responds quietly.

 

“Well then maybe only Kyungsoo should have a panic button, that way there’s less of a chance they realize we have one” Chanyeol reasons “If they find one they’ll definitely check us all for them.”

 

“It’s a tiny button anyways so just hide it in...” Baekhyun says searching around before a Chemical Free™ towel and rolling it up like a little lamb hat “this! Tell them you want to go to the sauna. I’m actually kinda excited for that part.”

 

“I’m not wearing that thing” Kyungsoo says frowning “What is that? I’ll look so stupid.”

 

“You 90s Americans have weird priorities” Baekhyun says frowning, his hat is cute not stupid “Wear the cute hat and you can smuggle in the panic button.”

 

“Fine but you’re wearing one too” Kyungsoo crosses his arms.

 

“Deal!” Baekyun says smiling, he was going to wear one anyway.

 

“Ok let’s tell the others what we learned before leaving our phones here” Chanyeol suggests.

 

“I don’t have a signal” Sehun says looking at his phone “Does that happen?”

 

“Me neither, they must be blocking it somehow” Chanyeol shakes his head annoyed “Well Baekhyun you can tell them when you get out or if we see Jongin we can tell him.”

 

The first half of the day they are told to just relax using the on-site spa amenities, aromatherapy, hot tub, yoga and even massages. These packages must be rather expensive considering all the options they have and this is the smaller location?  

 

~=+•+=~

 

_6th of August 2018, Naturalistic Clinic, South Korea_

 

“Minseok!” Junmyeon calls looking around for his friend.

 

“I’m here” Minseok says walking into the hall from the sauna.

 

“Oh good” Junmyeon smiles lightly “We have to go, right now”

 

“Why?” Minseok asks confused, he’s supposed to stay for another 8 days.

 

“Yixing and Jongdae are waiting, it’s lunch” Junmyeon explains “I’m starving and Jongdae says he won’t let us eat without you.”

 

“Oh ok!” Minseok says smiling “He’s always been like that, kind of silly.”

 

“Tell me about it” Junmyeon laughs walking towards the beautiful sunroom they serve lunch in.

 

Turns out they are the only ones in the huge spa. Junmyeon likes this mission much more than the last. Camping can be fun but after a week of being so close to the same people, it got rather irritating. With all this space and alone time in the spa, it’s definitely more relaxing. At the same time, he’s worried this will take a turn for the worst. After all, they aren’t here to get spa treatments, the Red Force is supposed to be controlling this and from what they know they aren’t great people.  

 

“Does the water taste weird?” Junmyeon says looking at his glass skeptically.

 

“It’s a bit different but it’s also water from a nearby aquifer so it would be different than tap water” Minseok explains “Since the tap water has ‘chemicals’, they don’t allow it here.”

 

“They seem really strict...” Junmyeon mumbles “I’d worry about this water.”

 

“We literally came here because they have very interesting views on treatment” Yixing words carefully in case someone is listening “You’re just being paranoid.”

 

The boys finish their lunch and even Junmyeon has to admit the food is really delicious. Apparently, the vegetables were grown on the grounds, organically of course, but they do taste really fresh and good.

 

Afterwards, everyone heads to the pool. It’s rather large and completely empty since they are currently the only clients. There are windows surrounding the pool giving it an outdoor vibe even though it’s inside. Must be lovely in the winter to see the snowfall while being in the warm pool.

 

“Do you guys know any pool games?” Junmyeon asks feeling very happy to be surrounded by water, he feels strong.

 

“You can play games in the pool?” Jongdae asks confused splashing the water in frustration “Why didn’t Tao tell us earlier!”

 

“Maybe because you splash around enough as is” Minseok says “What game did you have in mind?”

 

“Marco Polo!” Junmyeon says “It’s simple, one person closes their eyes and tries to find the others. When they yell ‘Marco’ everyone has to respond with ‘Polo’”

 

“Sounds fun!” Yixing agrees “But Junmyeon can never be the finder he can literally feel water, that’s cheating. He’d basically have his eyes open.”

 

“Why’d you tell them!” Junmyeon pouts “You’re no fun!”

 

“You’re starting to sound like Baekhyun or Jongdae” Minseok laughs.

 

“What can I say?” Junmyeon smiles “Being relaxed makes me feel like I can be childish.”

 

“Are you calling me childish?” Jongdae says upset, how disrespectful.

 

“I’ll start!” Yixing says closing his eyes and counting down from ten “2, 1... Marco!”

 

“Polo!”

 

They play until their fingers and toes wrinkle like raisins. They smiled so much their faces feel sore. They all get out of the pool and grab their towels to dry off. Junmyeon gives the pool one last look, he’s going to miss being surrounded by water. He watches as the pool water turns to ice. His smile drops and he immediately looks as Minseok. Minseok’s clearly freaked out and staring at something in the distance, Junmyeon follows his line of sight but sees nothing.

 

“Hyung?” Junmyeon says moving closer to Minseok “Are you ok? You froze the pool.”

 

“Huh? I’m fine” Minseok says snapping out of it “You don’t have to call me hyung, we’re close in age and I see you as a leader so it’s weird for me.”

 

“You’re sure?” Junmyeon says freaked out. How could Minseok be so weird one second and completely fine the next? “But the pool...”

 

He looks back at the pool, it’s not frozen at all. Can Minseok thaw ice? He never mentioned it before.

 

“Junmyeon, Minseok” Yixing says drying his hair “You two ok? It’s time for dinner.”

 

“Uh yeah” Junmyeon says confused, was it the light then? How does light make water look frozen... “We’ll be right there.”

 

They all go to dinner, nothing else weird catches Junmyeon’s eye. It must have just been exhaustion or dehydration or something. Same as lunch, the food is incredible and they greedily ask for seconds. Once they finish they make their way to their rooms, Yixing and Jongdae share one and Junmyeon and Minseok’s room is just across the hall.

 

“Good night guys” Junmyeon smiles once they all arrive at their rooms “Remember breakfast is served at 8am tomorrow!”

 

“Right” Yixing says sounding a little sad.

 

“Are you ok Yixing?” Junmyeon asks noticing Yixing’s tone.

 

“Yeah it’s just” Yixing starts “You guys are all staying for another week but I’m leaving in 3 days. We’ve had so much fun, I’m going to miss it”

 

“Yixing remember it seems fun but this is a mission” Junmyeon comforts him “And it’s not like we can’t have fun after.”

 

“Of course we can, Tao even has a pool at home!” Jongdae says smiling.

 

“You’re right” Yixing nods still feeling a bit down, no need to worry Junmyeon though “Good night guys.”

 

~=+•+=~

 

_6th of August 2018, Pyeong Naturopathy, South Korea_

 

Jongin explores the hallway he landed in. His aim might be precise but he’s still not really sure where to go. Kris decided this was the best place to start looking. Jongin looks through the windows of the room. They seem to just be hotel styled rooms. No one in them though, there are really a lot of rooms. Why are there so many empty rooms? Suddenly Jongin sees motion and hides in the nearest room. A nurse wearing full white passes by the room while pushing a cart. That was close.

 

Jongin keeps moving down the hall, hoping to find a different hall that might lead him to an office or something.  He seems someone go into a room, wait red hair? He found Chanyeol! He walks closer to the room to take note of where it is when he sees Kyungsoo go in right after. Kyungsoo? Shouldn’t Chanyeol and Baekhyun be rooming together? Unless... his dream wasn’t real though was it?

 

Jongin hears a noise and realizes he’s standing in the middle of the hall, easy to spot. He enters a room again hoping they’ll think he’s just a client. Seems he came into someone room based on the suitcase on the ground and... is that a bra? Jongin leaves as quickly as he can teleporting back to the base, he does not want to get security called on him for being in some random women’s room. Who doesn’t lock their door anyway? Was there even a lock?  

 

“Jongin? Back so soon?” Luhan asks seeing Jongin back in their rental home. It’s between both clinics to keep teleporting distances short. “Did you blow your cover?”

 

“Almost, that hallway was where client’s rooms are” Jongin explains

 

“We’ll try a different one next time.” Luhan nods.

 

~=+•+=~

 

_7th of August 2018, Pyeong Naturopathy, South Korea_

 

“Come on guys!” Baekhyun says excitedly “It’s my last day!”

 

“Baekhyun we aren’t just here to mess around” Chanyeol says trying to calm his friend down “We are meant to look around for suspicious activity.”

 

“Fine but tonight someone will come sit with me in the sauna” Baekhyun exaggeratingly pouts.

 

“I’ll do it” Chanyeol and Sehun say at the same time before looking directly at each other.

 

“Chanyeol we should actually check out the hot tub tonight” Kyungsoo says staring into Chanyeol’s eyes with a clear message of ‘don’t’.  

 

“Right we haven’t checked it yet” Chanyeol nods. He might not understand why Kyungsoo did that but he’s seen Kyungsoo fight and there’s no way he’s going to disobey him in front of everyone.

 

The boys spend the day once again exploring the clinic. Kyungsoo ends up getting acupuncture which he was really scared about but it really didn’t hurt at all. He does feel a bit better afterwards, he might end up doing it again. They all eat at different times because some get massages which last longer than others. By the end of the day, Baekhyun is both excited to spend some time with Sehun and also sad because he’s leaving soon and he really doesn’t want to. He knows he has to bring messages back to the base, it would be irresponsible to extend his stay even if he wants to.

 

~=+•+=~

 

_7th of August 2018, Naturalistic Clinic, South Korea_

 

“Did you guys see Yixing after breakfast?” Junmyeon asks concerned. “He wasn’t there for lunch and it’s almost dinner.”

 

“He said he was going to see the head doctor” Jongdae explains “Something about feeling off? A nurse escorted him.”

 

“He didn’t seem sick though” Minseok adds “A little down at most, he wasn’t laughing as much as usual.”

 

“Maybe he’s doing one of those counsellor sessions” Jongdae says “I hope he feels better soon, he’s being discharged in 2 days.”

 

“Let’s make sure to watch out for him” Junmyeon nods, it’s true Yixing wasn’t laughing as much. He still laughed more than Minseok but he’s usually a lot more smiley. “For now we should try out the yoga.”

 

~=+•+=~

 

_7th of August 2018, Pyeong Naturopathy, South Korea_

“Alright, Sehunnie let’s go!” Baekhyun says happily grabbing onto Sehun’s arm and pulling him towards the sauna.

 

“Why didn’t you want me going to the sauna with Baekhyun?” Chanyeol asks now that Baekhyun and Sehun are gone.

 

“I don’t know if you noticed, but Sehun seems a little shy” Kyungsoo states “Around us at least.”

 

“So?” Chanyeol says not understanding, sure Sehun is shy but what does that have to do with this. Kyungsoo rolls his eyes in response.

 

“Baekhyun is his closest friend, his only one really” Kyungsoo explains “It’s nice for him to be able to be around his friend and not feel intimidated. You, however, will do just fine without Baekhyun.”

 

Chanyeol pouts at that last line. Baekhyun is his best friend and he most certainly will not do “just fine without him”. He would protest that he should get alone time with his crush before he leaves but he remembers he hasn’t actually told Kyungsoo about said crush. They head to the hot tub anyway.

 

~=+•+=~

 

“And you think Chanyeol likes you because?” Sehun says squinting to add to his point.

 

“He wrote a song about me! He gets all scared and flustered when I flirt with him! He obviously likes me” Baekhyun says as if it were fact “But that doesn’t matter, I asked you how I should seduce him.”

 

“Baekhyun honestly I’m not convinced” Sehun crosses his arms, this isn’t how he pictured the relaxing sauna session going but he will help Baekhyun anyways “Being scared of you is a normal response.”

 

“Hey!” Baekhyun says slapping Sehun’s arm “That doesn’t explain the song though.”

 

“I completely think he has a crush I just don’t think it’s you” Sehun smirks.

 

“Well then who?” Baekhyun asks intrigued.

 

“Who has he been spending more time with lately?” Sehun asks waiting patiently for Baekhyun’s response.

 

“Jongdae? All three of us hang out a lot” Baekhyun says thinking hard.

 

“No...” Sehun says annoyed at Baekhyun obliviousness “Someone he likes to hang out with alone, someone he might even room with”

 

“Kyungsoo?” Baekhyun asks, Sehun nods “You think he has a crush on Kyungsoo? That’s farfetched.”

 

“Oh but him having a crush on you isn’t? Aren’t you like brothers?” Sehun asks sarcastically.

 

“Ew no” Baekhyun says scrunching his face.

 

“I bet you are to him, would explain how scared he gets when you flirt with him” Sehun says leaning back on the bench.

 

“Whatever” Baekhyun says annoyed, Sehun might be right but he’s not letting go of his plan. If anything he’ll have to work harder.

 

“Are even sure you want to date him?” Sehun remarks “Would risk your friendship over this? Sounds more like you want a 'friends with benefits' relationship with him. That’s kind of cruel if he has feelings for you like you think.”

 

“I think I love him” Baekhyun says seriously “I’ve liked him since 11th grade, it comes and goes but it always comes back.”

 

“Oh I didn’t realize...” Sehun says feeling a little bad for shaming him.

 

“It’s ok, it feels so normal to me at this point” Baekhyun says before smiling slightly “I’m tired of it though. I _will_ make him fall for me.”

 

“Why don’t you just confess?” Sehun suggests “Why seduce him?”

 

“I’ve waited long enough, I’m doing this my way” Baekhyun smirks “I’m going to have fun with it. It's not like there's a deadline.”

 

“Your choice I guess” Sehun sighs.

 

The two sit in the steam for a little while longer but it starts getting late.

 

“I think I’m going to head to our room” Sehun says getting up “Too much steam for one day.”

 

“Suit yourself.” Baekhyun says still not quite back to his happy self. Chanyeol thinks of him as a brother?

 

“Bye Baekhyun, I’ll see you in two days when it’s my turn to leave” Sehun smiles while leaving the sauna.

 

“Good night!”

 

~=+•+=~

 

_9th of August 2018, Naturalistic Clinic, South Korea_

 

It’s really late but they all agreed it’s safer for Jongin to investigate at night when most of the workers are sleeping. Still waking up at 3 am to go spy in the clinic has left Jongin sleepy and grouchy. So far they’ve found the offices in the other clinic but all files are on the computer and he doesn’t have the password. He hopes there are some actual files in this clinic since it's older than the other one. He walks quietly around the hallway peaking into some rooms hoping to find an office. He hears voices coming from a room, two women talking. He leans his ear up and listens closely. Are they speaking English?

 

“Client Z10 is finishing treatment today.” One woman says in English “What should we plan?”

 

“Invite him for another counselling session” The other answers “He’ll need it surely”

 

Who is Z10? Do they need to protect client’s privacy so much as to not know their real names? Also, they seem genuinely concerned about this guy. Jongin doesn’t know him but hopes he feels better too. Jongin decides to stop listening, no need to snoop on a client’s life.

 

Jongin keeps searching and eventually does find a room with a filing cabinet. It’s locked but luckily Baekhyun taught him how to pick a lock. Hopefully, they won’t notice if he scratches the lock. He opens it in under a minute, takes the files out and hides in a corner in case someone comes in. He takes photos of each page without even reading it, he’s way too tired and just wants to go back to sleep. Once he finishes which takes almost an hour, he puts the files back and teleports to the base. He knows he should stay longer and investigate more but he might end up falling asleep there and that would blow the mission.

 

~=+•+=~

 

“Has Yixing disappeared again?” Minseok asks Jongdae while walking into their room. “Or is he in counselling?”

 

“I think he checked out actually?” Jongdae shrugs “Junmyeon said he saw nurses escorting him again but he had his stuff from the locker.”

 

“Do you think we haven’t given him enough time to adjust to living in the future?” Minseok asks feeling really sad for his friend “I don’t think I saw him smile at all yesterday.”

 

“I hope he’s ok” Jongdae responds “I hope it’s just something a little like he didn’t sleep well or that he’ll miss us.”

 

“He’ll be with Kris, Tao, Luhan and Jongin though” Minseok points out “and maybe someone else left the other clinic too.”

 

“I’m glad we’re leaving the same day” Jongdae says “I don’t like being away from you.”

 

“I realized that” Minseok says smiling, there’s not a day they haven’t seen each other since he was assigned as his personal guard. “I don’t like being away from you either.”

 

“Til death do us part?” Jongdae asks smiling.

 

“Of course” Minseok nods.

 

From their room, they hear a scream getting increasingly louder. Both of them sprint out of the room and realize it’s coming from Junmyeon’s room. As they go to turn the knob the screaming stops. They go in anyways and find Junmyeon just sitting on the floor, no noticeable injuries.

 

“Junmyeon are you ok? We can call a nurse-” Minseok starts.

 

“No, no I’m ok I just...” Junmyeon looks around confused “I thought the walls were closing in on me.”

 

“We didn’t hear anything but your scream” Jongdae says looking at with serious concern “Do you think you might have been imagining it?”

 

“I- I mean I guess? It just felt so real...” Junmyeon says looking down a little ashamed for making a big deal of literally nothing “The fear was so intense even before I saw the walls closing.”

 

“Honestly” Minseok pipes up “I’ve been seeing these shadows around, but I thought it was just stress or something.”

 

“I’ve been hearing voices too” Jongdae admits “Do you think we’re being poisoned?”

 

“I don’t know but hallucinations aren’t a good sign, but if we are all having them it’s probably not stress” Junmyeon says his heart rate calming “We should alert the others and get out of here.”

 

“Good idea” Jongdae agrees “Minseok hit the panic button.”

 

“I don’t have one, they took it during my consultation saying I can’t bring any pagers.” Minseok says “Not sure what a pager is...”

 

“I don’t have mine either...” Junmyeon says seriously “Are you saying we have no way to tell the others we’re literally going insane?”

 


	15. ???????, South Korea

_12th of August 2018, Pyeong Naturopathy, South Korea_

 

This time Jongin is going when it’s late but when he’s still properly awake. Though the other night missions were safer since fewer people were active, Jongin was nowhere near as productive as he should be. 11 pm seems to be a good time, not many people are awake but Jongin can properly concentrate.

 

He follows the hallway he’s been in before, he doesn’t know where it leads though. He knows the floor plan of the other clinic so much better. Here is only knows where one office and the client rooms are, that’s basically it. He keeps walking till he sees a door on his right that looks interesting. While all the other doors are either a pale wood colour or white with a window at the top, this looks like it’s made of metal. Of course, it’s been painted white to fit in but there’s no window and looks like there’s even a lock on the door. Jongin goes to pick the lock when he hears a noise. He quickly backs off and looks around. There’s no one.

 

He hears the sound again, it’s someone laughing... it sounds really familiar. Kyungsoo? Jongin goes towards the laugh leaving his task behind. He walks down the hall and sees a room with glass walls, oh the hot tubs of course. He peeks in a sees Kyungsoo alone in the hot tub, eyes closed and giggling. What is he laughing about? The bubbles of the hot tub stop and Kyungsoo stops laughing. He gets out to hit the start button again. Jongin realizes Kyungsoo’s actually [ shirtless. ](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/7d/5d/96/7d5d969084d6a65b66cdb55b9ea97b84.jpg) Are rash guards not provided here? Kyungsoo always wears a rash guard, Jongin’s never seen him shirtless. Kyungsoo actually has abs? It's faint but Kyungsoo doesn’t work out so Jongin never expected... Kyungsoo looks right up at Jongin while getting in.

 

Jongin decides to walk over since Kyungsoo knows he’s there anyway.

 

“Jongin?” Kyungsoo asks getting in the water “Shouldn’t you be looking for information? Why are you here?”

 

“Well, I...” Jongin tries to think of a lie that doesn’t make him seem incompetent at his job “I wanted to explore this wing of the building but it seems it’s just spa stuff.”

 

“Yeah I’ve been through this whole half of the building, it’s really just for clients” Kyungsoo agrees, he’s a little uncomfortable being so exposed in front of Jongin. “The other half is probably better to explore.”

 

“Yeah I’ll do that” Jongin nods “But since I’m here, how are you guys doing?”

 

“Good! It’s just been relaxing, nothing weird” Kyungsoo smiles “I do have the panic button just in case though so no need to worry!”

 

“That’s good” Jongin smiles back, he wishes he could join Kyungsoo but he didn’t bring swim stuff... and he’s meant to do his work.

 

Kyungsoo laughs again, a bright heart-shaped smile decorates his face. Jongin really missed seeing that smile.

 

“What’s so funny?” Jongin asks with a huge smile.

 

“The bubbles tickle!” Kyungsoo says laughing even louder.

 

“You’re so cute hyung” Jongin says his heart filled with adoration, but he does really need to get back to work “ I have to go but when will you guys be coming back?”

 

“I’m staying till the 19th and Chanyeol is staying till the 17th” Kyungsoo says.

 

“Oh, still a bit of a wait then” Jongin frowns, why didn’t he mention when Sehun and Baekhyun are coming back though? “I’ll go back to spying now.”

 

“Good luck!”

 

Jongin makes his way back to the door he was going to unlock. Luckily there’s still no one and he gets to work. Once the door is unlocked he opens it and sees it’s stairs towards a basement. There was no basement on the official blueprints, is this a storage place they decided to add after the blueprints Tao got? Jongin decides to head down, using the flashlight on his phone he walks down the stairs safely. Once he makes it to the bottom he sees nothing but storage containers and a door at the end of the small room. There’s light flooding in from under that door, clearly, someone is in there. Jongin starts hearing footsteps approach the door. Panicked, Jongin teleports back to the base.

 

“Woah!” Tao yells almost dropping his teacup “I will never get used to you just appearing here”

 

“I found a basement” Jongin says still a little frazzled from almost getting caught “and I spoke to Kyungsoo”

 

“One thing at a time” Tao says sitting down at the kitchen breakfast nook “Basement? There wasn’t supposed to be a basement”

 

“Well there is one, all I saw was storage and a door though” Jongin explains “It probably leads to a staff break room or something but I would have to investigate again to confirm it.”

 

“Ok that’s probably a good idea, we should do that next” Tao agrees “And Kyungsoo? How is he?”

 

“He’s good” Jongin smiles “Him and Chanyeol are coming back in about a week.”

 

“What about the other two?” Tao asks concerned.

 

“He didn’t mention them, so I’m not sure” Jongin says “I found that weird too.”

 

“Try looking into that later, when you go back” Tao encourages “I think we should focus on this clinic for now since you seem to have more things you need to look into there.”

 

“That’s a good idea” Jongin smiles, he’ll have a higher chance of seeing Kyungsoo again.

 

~=+•+=~

 

_???????????, South Korea_

 

Junmyeon has no idea how he got here. His lungs burn with the smoke he’s inhaling. He pushes back the pain and brings his face as close to the glass as he can. He can see tall gray walls. There’s sand on the ground everywhere. What is this place? Suddenly he’s being moved, is he walking? He’s not and yet he’s getting closer to the walls. He can hear the sound of something scraping against the ground. He needs to get out! He needs to get to his family! He decides to feel through the smoke some more. The smoke burns so badly. He falls to the ground.  

 

~=+•+=~

 

_13th of August 2018, Pyeong Naturopathy, South Korea_

 

“I can’t believe you went for a late night hot tub swim without me!” Chanyeol says changing before splashing his face with water.

 

“I wanted some alone time!” Kyungsoo defends leaning on the bathroom wall. He’s already finished his night routine but he’ll wait for Chanyeol. He knows Chanyeol will whine even more than he’s whining now if Kyungsoo leaves him to walk back to their room alone.

 

“Well that didn’t work out well did it?” Chanyeol smirks before grabbing a Chemical Free™ toner and applying it to his face. “What with Jongin appearing and everything.”

 

“I’m happy he was there though” Kyungsoo’s had a great time here but he really misses Jongin, well the others too.

 

“Of course you were” Chanyeol says before applying some moisturizer.

 

“That shit smells terrible why are you putting it on?” Kyungsoo grimaces.

 

“To have soft skin” Chanyeol looks up at Kyungsoo “And nice try changing the subject.”

 

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes in response.

 

Once they get back to their room, Kyungsoo hops into his bed and waits for Chanyeol to turn off the light.

 

“So back to Jongin” Chanyeol smiles to himself while turning off the lights.

 

Kyungsoo grunts in response.

 

“Kyungsoo come on there’s been literally nothing interesting since Sehun left just spill” Chanyeol says making his way to his bed in the darkness.

 

Kyungsoo stays silent.

 

“Kyungsoo?” Chanyeol asks waiting for a response.

 

He hears a thud. Chanyeol immediately jumps out of his bed to turn the light on and look for what fell. He sees Kyungsoo on the ground convulsing.

 

“Kyungsoo!” He screams “Fuck! I don’t know what to do!”

 

Chanyeol runs into the hall and screams at the top of his lungs for help. Women in white dresses with red stripes run in and find Kyungsoo.

 

“He’s having a seizure stay calm we are trained” One of them says to Chanyeol.

 

Chanyeol stays way back and lets them do their jobs. They clear the area of anything on the ground. One seems to be counting. They flip Kyungsoo on his side and grab a thin blanket from the bed and place it under his head. Eventually, Kyungsoo stops shaking and starts crying.

 

“You’ve had a seizure” The first woman tells him. “Check in with the doctor tomorrow morning for an assessment. Good night.”

 

“You should comfort him, call for us if anything happens” The other one says before they leave the room.

 

Chanyeol immediately goes to comfort Kyungsoo, sitting beside him unsure if he should hold him or if that would be crossing a line. Luckily he doesn’t debate it long because Kyungsoo grabs on to him still sobbing.

 

“It’s ok Kyungsoo it’s over now” Chanyeol says rubbing his back. “Try taking deep breaths.”

 

“I-I know” Kyungsoo says slowing his breathing.

 

After a minute Kyungsoo stops crying and pulls himself off Chanyeol. He wipes his eyes and looks down at the ground.

 

“I thought I was going to die.” Kyungsoo admits sadness still heavy in his voice.

 

“Have you had a seizure before?” Chanyeol asks wondering if he needs any kind of meds to prevent it from happening again.

 

“Once in high school” Kyungsoo says “I bashed my head pretty bad but the doctor said I was ok, I don’t have epilepsy or anything it was just a random seizure, my salt levels were too low or something.”

 

“I can get you some chips from the snack bar, just in case!” Chanyeol says jumping up.

 

“Thanks Chanyeol” Kyungsoo smiles “You’re a good friend.”

 

Chanyeol leaves and as quickly as possible finds the snack bar, he’s worried Kyungsoo might have another seizure while he’s gone. He would stay but he thinks getting Kyungsoo some more salt quickly might be safest to prevent this from happening again. Also, Kyungsoo shouldn’t move much since he’s recovering so going alone makes more sense. Chanyeol’s really shaken up about the whole experience but the nurses did such an amazing job of getting there quickly and doing their job efficiently. They were wearing different outfits than the regular ones though. Their dresses had that red stripe and they wore red tights under it instead of white. Were they the emergency or maybe night shift nurses? In any case, he’s really happy they were there.

 

Once Chanyeol gets back to their room with the pretzels since they didn’t have chips, Kyungsoo is asleep in his bed. Chanyeol debates whether he should wake him and give him the pretzels or let Kyungsoo sleep. He does look awfully cute sleeping but Chanyeol decides it’s better safe than sorry.

 

“Kyungsoo?”

~=+•+=~

 

_???????????, South Korea_

 

He’s in a box, a glass box. It took Minseok a long time to figure that out with all the smoke in it clouding his vision and filling his lungs. Why is he stuck in a glass box? When did he get here? He hits every single side trying to escape. How is he going to save Daegun Jongdae if he’s in this box? He saw the prince was into the gray-walled place. He knows demons lurk in there and he needs to... he needs... The world is spinning? Is he spinning? He takes one last breath of burning air. The prince!

 

~=+•+=~

 

_15th of August 2018, Pyeong Naturopathy, South Korea_

 

“So I still don’t get it, tea gave you a seizure?” Chanyeol asks while they walk to their yoga class.

 

“It had a flower that lowers salt levels” Kyungsoo explains “and I wasn’t meant to drink 9 cups in a day but it was really tasty. I also didn’t eat much salt.”

 

“I still think we should hit that panic button and get you checked out by a real doctor” Chanyeol frowns “I don’t know, get a blood test or something.”

 

“Don’t say that so loudly” Kyungsoo says as they arrive at their destination.

 

The class is easy to follow, though somewhat embarrassing, especially that pose where you lift your butt in the air and make like a triangle. What’s it called? Dog Pose? Kyungsoo swears his shorts ride up during it and he’s not pleased.

 

~=+•+=~

 

Jongin knows he should be checking the basement, that’s literally the only reason he’s here during the day. At least Tao got him the right clothes so he blends in with the clients. He just needs to check up on Kyungsoo, what if something happened and he lost his panic button? First, he checks all the rooms for one that could be Chanyeol and Kyungsoo’s. He knows roughly where it is so this shouldn’t be hard. Bingo, it’s literally the only room in this part of the hallway with the bedsheets being a mess, well at least Chanyeol’s bedsheets. Kyungsoo’s has clearly been used but the bed is made.

 

After finding his room, all Jongin needs to do is find Kyungsoo and watch him so he can make sure everything's ok. It’s not creepy, it’s looking out for his friend. At least that’s what Jongin tells himself.

 

He peeks into a window of a room, there’s a plant right beside it so he hides behind it. He’s barely visible from the hall and the room, perfect. Inside the room, a yoga class is being taught. He looks through the students. Chanyeol! Red hair is so easy to spot, so Kyungsoo will be there too, right? He looks and finds his friend currently doing a weird pose. He looks like he’s praying or something. The instructor says something Jongin can’t hear and then people pair up.

 

Chanyeol gets in some sort of triangle pose and Kyungsoo looks nervous while looking at Chanyeol’s head. They shouldn’t make him do anything he doesn’t want to do! Kyungsoo turns around and leans on his hands, he puts his legs beside Chanyeol’s head and moves so his hands are placed just in front of Chanyeol’s on the mat. Kyungsoo kicks up his legs and tries to place them on Chanyeol’s back near his hips. Both of them fall over and start laughing. Chanyeol says something and Kyungsoo nods while smiling.

 

They try it again but this time Kyungsoo only kicks up one leg at a time. Kyungsoo straightens out his back so he’s making an upside-down L with his back straight doing a handstand but his legs parallel with the ground using Chanyeol to stay stable. Kyungsoo’s shirt gets untucked and he immediately falls over. Kyungsoo and Chanyeol start laughing again, Kyungsoo’s eyes narrow creating two adorable eye smiles. Jongin’s decided he’s seen enough of Kyungsoo laugh without him. He leaves and goes back to his mission.

 

~=+•+=~

_???????????, South Korea_

 

He keeps running, how does he get out of here? He’s been here for so long. How long has it been? Feels like he’s been here for a month. He hasn’t eaten or had anything to drink. He just keeps running, he needs to find the exit. He’s so tired he feels like he could pass out at any point. When did he last sleep? Wait didn’t he just go left? Or was it right? Everything looks the same here. Nothing but huge gray walls and a dusty sand ground. Just a little further. He’ll get out. He’ll go home. He doesn’t even realize he’s crying. He can’t cry! He’s so thirsty. Everything spins. Something hits his head and the world starts getting fuzzy. Since when did the ground get so close? Maybe a small rest is all he needs. He closes his eyes and his pain ends.

 

~=+•+=~

 

Jongin makes his way to the office again. Tao gave him a little hacking tool and trained him to use it. He was going to look into the basement but they want to wait till at least Chanyeol comes home. He plugs in the device in and hopes and prays no one comes in. The light flashes blue before turning to a solid green. Perfect, it’s located the files. Once the light changes back to blue it will be done downloading the files. Jongin waits staring at the little light, turquoise... teal...blue! He takes it out and sneaks it into his pocket. Mission accomplished. He teleports home.

 

~=+•+=~

 

_???????????, South Korea_

 

He’s running, how long has he been running? There’s nothing but gray and sand. Jongdae has to run faster! The clouds keep coming and the whispering keeps getting louder. “Why did you do that Jongdae?” “The kingdom is falling”. He runs faster away from the whispers. It’s not his fault! He didn’t do it! He runs until he sees an exit. Finally! There’s nothing but blackness everywhere? He looks back and the maze is so far away, how is it so far? How long had he been running? He turns back around and in the distance among the blackness, he sees a glass box full of pinkish smoke. He runs as fast as he can towards it. Is someone stuck inside? Jongdae pounds on it as hard as he can.

 

~=+•+=~

 

_16th of August 2018, Pyeong Naturopathy, South Korea_

 

“What do you want to do on your second to last day?” Kyungsoo asks Chanyeol while eating his cereal.

 

“They have hair analysis here” Chanyeol says finishing his toast. “I’m curious to find out what that is, do you think they’ll tell us our future based on our hair?”

 

“I think they just analyse its composition and tell us if we are healthy” Kyungsoo shrugs “It’s not a methods medical doctors say works but we can try if you want.”

 

“Yes! let’s get our hair analyzed!” Chanyeol smiles.

 

“I don’t see how that’s fun but ok” Kyungsoo agrees anyways.

 

After Kyungsoo finishes eating they head over to the hair analysis room, apparently it’s in the basement. They are lead into a white room with a huge window. Behind the window is what looks like a giant red loading symbol, looks like it might be a power generator? The ground has a weird red design, maybe directions for how to set up the room for different procedures? They are told to sit in two rather large gray chairs that look like they could turn into beds. Almost like hospital beds. Two nurses wearing the dresses with the red stripes come in a take a hair sample. It kind of hurts but not much.

 

“Those are the nurses that saved you from your seizure” Chanyeol says with a huge smile, he loves those nurses.

 

“Don’t you think it’s weird only women work here?” Kyungsoo asks, he’s never really noticed that till now...

 

“Probably just run by a feminist looking to employ more girls or something” Chanyeol answers. "Understandable, someone needs to take a stand for equality."

 

Four nurses come in, no doubt to give them the results. Two of them wheel in machines while the other two recline the chairs and swab their arms with a substance that smells a lot like alcohol, aren’t they not allowed chemicals? One nurse uncaps the end of an IV line and points it at Kyungsoo arm.

 

“What are you doing?” Chanyeol asks getting freaked out. All the nurses pause.

 

“Your heavy metal levels were too high” one answers “We need to purify your blood, don’t worry, it's perfectly safe just a little bit of saline will fix it”

 

“Naturopathy is meant to be non-invasive” Kyungsoo says shooting them death glares “No needles”

 

“Well if you prefer we can do a topical treatment” the first nurse answers “It won’t be as effective, you’ll have to come back tomorrow for another treatment.”

 

“Yes let’s do that” Kyungsoo agrees.

 

“Go get the cream please” one nurse says to the other.

 

A skin treatment can’t be dangerous right? He looks over at Chanyeol who looks terrified, he mouths the word ‘button’. Kyungsoo decides not to question his judgement and tries to sneakily hit the button before the nurse comes back. Too late.

 

The nurses apply the cream which tingles slightly on Kyungsoo’s skin. His arm starts burning and he suddenly remembers that just touching a poison dart frog can kill a person. Creams aren’t dangerous, what was he thinking? He starts struggling against the nurses hold before slowly forgetting why. It’s just a cream, it’s to make his skin soft! He smiles at the nurses, they are so kind for applying this on him.

 

“Can we insert the IV now?” One nurse asks Kyungsoo.

 

“Of course!” he responds.

 

The IV needle hurts going in but he knows it’s for his own health so he tries not to move much. The nurse hits a few buttons on the machine before leaving the room.

 

“Aren’t they nice?” Chanyeol asks his friend.

 

“The best!” Kyungsoo smiles back at his friend “I’m so glad we did this.”

 

A nurse comes back with a needle full of a black liquid and injects it into Chanyeol’s IV. Chanyeol’s eyes start fluttering closed before his head falls to the side.

 

“Is he ok?” Kyungsoo asks a little concerned for his friend.

 

“He’s just taking a nap, it’s your turn now” the nurse says with no smile.

 

That’s weird don’t they always smile? Is the room getting dark or is that just...

 

A/N: Jongin’s jealousy is based entirely on the fact he actually does this and I find it hilarious. [ Proof 1](https://i.pinimg.com/236x/c2/9f/3e/c29f3e23ceafa73f58c5c43dd1b2e528--exo-couple-weheartit.jpg), [ Proof 2 ](http://i.imgur.com/1TVkaA5.gif) literally has to ask permission to kiss Baekhyun and Jongin still pouts omg (there’s more but). Can’t lie though I tend to be like that with my friends too.


	16. The Lucky Ones

_ 17th of August 2018, Rental House, South Korea _

 

“They weren’t in their rooms!” Jongin screams feeling a little woozy, he should sit down.

 

“What do you mean?” Luhan says running in, Kris and Tao following him. “Are you ok?”

 

“They- I waited for them and it was so late but they didn’t go back to their room” Jongin explains “I checked all over the clinic but-” Jongin almost falls over but Kris catches him. 

 

“Did you teleport around the clinic?” Tao asks concerned, how much did he teleport to end up so tired?

 

“I had to find them!” Jongin yells finally sitting in a chair “What if they- if they are hurt or...”

 

“Listen we can’t do anything with you in this state” Tao says firmly “We’ll get you some juice, give you a moment to calm down and talk this out. Then we’ll make a plan.”

 

Luhan brings the juice over and they all wait till Jongin’s breathing stabilizes. It’s two am right now and they’d all like to just head to bed and deal with it tomorrow but if their friends are in danger they really would need to work as soon as possible. 

 

“So what happened?” Luhan asks taking the seat beside Jongin. 

 

“I was trying to spy and stuff, finally go in the basement” Jongin explains “Then I thought I should check on Kyungsoo... and Chanyeol so I went in their room-”

 

“You went in their room?” Tao interrupts “It’s that kind of creepy, were you going to watch them sleep?” 

 

“Anyways, they weren’t in their room and it was 1 am so they weren’t meant to be anywhere else” Jongin says avoiding the question “So I freaked out and teleported all over the clinic because I didn’t want to waste time.”

 

“That clinic is big, how many times did you teleport?” Luhan asks concerned. 

 

“Maybe 20...30 times but I’ll be fine tomorrow” Jongin dismisses “We need a plan”

 

“Agreed but we won’t do it until you’ve healed, we need you to be healthy for this to work” Kris says “I say we try to locate Yixing, if anything goes wrong we need him”

 

“That’s true” Tao nods “Tomorrow, Jongin you’ll go in Yixing’s clinic and get him”

 

“And after that?” Jongin asks.

 

“Well we don’t know where everyone else is or if they are even in danger. No panic buttons went off.” Luhan says “We will definitely bring a van to each clinic in case we need to bring them out, no way Jongin can teleport them all out”

 

“We’ll give Jongin an earpiece so he can update us” Tao adds “I’ll go to Yixing’s clinic, Kris and Luhan can go to the other one. Since that’s where we know they are missing we’ll need Luhan’s power there.”

 

“I should join you, no need to waste power teleporting there” Jongin says.

 

“Ok well, I think that’s as much of a plan as we can make given our extremely limited information.” Kris says “Let’s all get some sleep, we have a big day ahead of us.”

 

~=+•+=~

 

_ 17th of August 2018, Naturalistic Clinic, South Korea _

 

“Ok, I found the basement” Jongin whispers into his earpiece “It’s always the last place you check huh?” 

 

Jongin picks the lock as quickly as he can. He really hopes this basement isn’t as big as the clinic, he really needs to find Yixing and the others since they now know everyone is missing. None of the lights are on... isn’t that a little odd? He walks in darkness, it’s probably better this way since no one will see him sneaking around. He finds his first room and opens the door. There’s a body laying on a gray hospital bed, hooked up to an IV. Jongin can’t see well but he rushes over to check for a pulse. The heart rate is really high for someone who’s knocked out. He tries to look at the face in the dim light the IV pump gives off. 

 

“Guys” Jongin says pressing his earpiece “I found Jongdae but he’s unconscious” 

 

“Shit!” Kris mumbles back “Ok just keep to the original plan, we don’t want to hurt Jongdae, find Yixing, he’ll fix him.”

 

Jongin nods even though no one can see him and goes back into the hall trying to find another room. After navigating the maze that is the basement and going into many empty rooms, Jongin finds what seems to be a surgery suite. He walks in and sees someone lying on the operating table, covered in a bloody surgery tarp. The room is unlit, none of the equipment is on, except one life support machine. Jongin walks up and examines the scene better. 

 

“Ok so good news and bad news” Jongin says into the earpiece “I found Yixing but he’s got some sort of breathing mask on.”

 

“Explain what kind of machine he’s hooked up to” Kris instructs.

 

“I don’t know” Jongin scrambles, he’s studying dance not medicine “He’s got a mask and the machine shows his heart rate... something that’s 130 over 80 and I don’t know the other thing.”

 

“Ok seems like a standard surgery monitoring machine, his blood pressure’s a little high but otherwise he’s ok.” Kris explains, he was studying to be a nurse before this whole thing “Do you know how to do CPR?” 

 

“Uhh I was a lifeguard for a few years but that was in the 90s” Jongin responds getting nervous. 

 

“Ok good enough, you probably won’t need to do anything” Kris says “Take his mask off and narrate everything to me.”

 

“Ok...” Jongin agrees “I’m taking his mask off and... he took a big breath...nothing....”

 

After a few minutes, Yixing opens his eyes and Jongin yells in surprise.

 

“J-Jongin?” Yixing asks looking around “Oh thank fuck, I can speak finally”

 

“Ok he’s up” Jongin says quickly to Kris “What happened?”

 

“I... was in a sort of forced locked-in syndrome” Yixing says a little shaky “Whatever drugs they gave me were really nasty.”

 

“Let’s talk later, the others need you” Jongin says pulling on Yixing, the surgery trap falling down to his waist exposing a huge ugly suture. 

 

“Fuck!” Yixing screams in pain “Wait one second on that Jonginnie, they pulled out my kidney and were not gentle.”

 

Yixing places his hand over his tummy and winces a bit. 

 

“Ok I’m good but get me some pants” Yixing says looking down at the tarp. 

 

“But your suture isn’t healed” Jongin says while grabbing some scrubs he finds in a bin, they are bloody but better than nothing.

 

“Based on what I heard the nurses saying, I’ll need to save up my healing powers” Yixing say “This amount of pain is tolerable, I mean I wouldn’t be against an ibuprofen if you had one.”

 

“Sorry” 

 

They run over to where Jongin found Jongdae, luckily they still haven't seen a worker which seem really weird... Did they abandon this place?

 

“Can you fix him?” Jongin asks. 

 

“Hmmm” Yixing says with his eyes closed, hands on Jongdae “Yeah he’s just overloaded with a foreign neurotransmitter I’ll scrub it from his system. Take that IV out and apply pressure to his arm” 

 

Jongin does as he’s told holding down that spot where the IV was. Yixing starts breathing heavily. 

 

“I’m... fine” Yixing says between breaths “It’s just... like working out.”

 

Slowly Jongdae’s eyes flutter and his face contorts in discomfort. 

 

“We have Jongdae-” Jongin starts explaining in his earpiece. 

 

“It wasn’t my fault!” Jongdae screams before crying. 

 

“Jongdae?” Yixing says rubbing his back “It’s ok, you were hallucinating.”

 

“I was?” Jongdae looks around confused “How’d I get here? But Minseok is stuck in the smoke!”

 

“Jongdae, calm down that wasn’t real” Yixing explains “Jongin I know this isn’t ideal but we need to get the others so we’re going to have to drag him with us.”

 

They all run through the halls again, Jongdae slowly calming down although not at all letting go of the idea that Minseok is drowning in smoke. They finally find another room, this time with two bodies. There’s only one IV bag with two lines coming out of it going into each body, they realize right away it’s Junmyeon and Minseok. Jongin quickly updates Kris.

 

“Why are their IVs connected?” Jongin asks.

 

“No time to question they're fucked up medical practices” Yixing says before Jongdae throws himself on Minseok.

 

“Save him from the smoke!” Jongdae cries. 

 

“Ok, I will Jongdae give me a minute” Yixing says calmly placing his hand on Minseok “Exactly the same, Jongin get the IVs out.”

 

After the IVs are out and Jongin held their arms long enough to prevent bleeding, Jongin sits down with Jongdae while they wait for Yixing to fix them. 

 

“What happened?” Jongin asks.

 

“I was in a maze, horrible maze with walls that talk to you” Jongdae says holding his knees “but I got out, eventually and I found Minseok in a smoke box. I tried for days to free him of the box. He kept passing out and getting up and then choking all over again.” 

 

“I’m so sorry Jongdae” Jongin hugs his friend “but it’s over and it was just a dream”

 

“It wasn’t!” Jongdae yells. 

 

At that moment Minseok takes a huge breath before coughing furiously. 

 

“Minseok!” Jongdae says running to his friend “You’re free!” 

 

“I am” Minseok agrees, hugging his friend “I was worried when you disappeared but I knew they had saved you.”

 

“I’ll work on Junmyeon now” Yixing says quickly.

 

Jongin tries to probe Jongdae and Minseok for more answers but they just keep hugging and saying weird things about pink smoke and boxes, clearly, Yixing didn’t clear their systems completely. Eventually, Junmyeon wakes up in a just as dramatic fashion. 

“We have to get out now!” Junmyeon yells “Jongin and Yixing go to the other clinic they are killing Baekhyun!”

 

“Yixing can you make them calm somehow!” Jongin asks. The crazy talk is really starting to scare him. 

 

“This is all on them, I healed them completely.” Yixing says putting his hands up. 

 

“Quick before-” Junmyeon starts

 

A deafening alarm goes off and the entire basement is flooded with red light. 

 

“Great!” Junmyeon yells “We’ll handle the droids, you guys save the others!”

 

“Can we leave them like this?” Jongin asks Yixing. 

 

“I told you from a health point of view, they are perfectly healthy” Yixing defends. 

 

“Ok fine then” Jongin nods “Tao is waiting by the exit in a car, Kris will have told him everything by now you just need to get there.”

 

“Good” Junmyeon says “We’ll fight them, you just save the others  _ now _ ” 

 

Jongin grabs a hold of Yixing and teleports out to the other clinic. 

 

“Let’s go!” Jongdae yells. 

 

As soon as they open the door they are faced by a woman in a white dress wearing the red tights and a red transparent face shield. Her face lights up with three little lightning bolts before exploding into powder. 

 

“How did you know they were droids” Jongdae asks looking at the corps of the robot, wires now exposed. 

 

“I’m more attentive than you are, that’s why I’m the leader” Junmyeon smiles. “Now let’s run!” 

 

Junmyeon leads the way as they run down the hall. They fight many droids, seems if any of them use their powers their heads explode into powder. A terrible flaw for a place meant to trap people with powers. They keep running through halls but it’s almost never ending, where the hell is the exit. 

 

“Oh!” Jongdae yells while they run “I get it! This is the maze!”

 

“What the hell does that mean and why did you stop running” Junmyeon asks stressed, another droid could appear whenever. 

 

“Just-” Jongdae starts turning around looking at the halls before running into one of them “Follow me!” 

 

They decide to follow Jongdae since they don’t really have a better plan. After running into many, many more droids they finally get out of the basement and into Tao’s car. 

 

“Drive!” Junmyeon yells strapping into the seat beside Tao. 

 

“But Yixing!” Tao protests. 

 

“Jongin brought him to the other clinic” Junmyeon says shaking his head “Now Tao, I’m really happy to see you, like you have no idea, but if you don’t get me away from this hell hole I won’t hesitate to push you out and drive it myself. Are we clear?” 

 

“Yes, sir” Tao says terrified of this side of Junmyeon. 

 

~=+•+=~

 

_ 17th of August 2018, Pyeong Naturopathy, South Korea _

 

“Ok let’s find them” Yixing says right after looking around, this basement looks the same as the other, but without the red light “Jongin?”

 

Jongin is sitting on the ground, he looks like he might vomit.

 

“Jongin?” Yixing says concerned “Are you ok?” 

 

“Yeah I just...” Jongin says breathing deeply “I’m not sure I can do that again.”

 

“Shit, I’m feeling a bit weak too”

 

“Luhan” Jongin says hitting his earpiece “Get in here now!” 

 

“Got it!” Jongin hears in his ear.

 

“Ok let’s go” Jongin says getting up “I’ll be fine”

 

They run around this basement again and Jongin seriously wishes he didn’t over exhaust himself yesterday, this amount of teleporting should be easy for him. He went to Korea from America with Kyungsoo no problem!

 

“Found him!” Yixing yells, a plus of this clinic is the windows in each room making it easy to search rooms from the hallway. 

 

They go in and Yixing places his hand on Baekhyun’s forehead. 

 

“Seems similar to what the others had, should be easier actually” Yixing says “And could you-”

 

“Already on it” Jongin smiles applying pressure where the IV was. 

 

“Thanks” 

 

In half the time it took to do the other, Baekhyun wakes up but not with a start like the others, he seems exhausted. 

 

“I’m-” Baekhyun says looking at the ground, “I thought I died, if this is heaven, it’s shit.”

 

Baekhyun laughs lightly trying to get off the table before almost falling over. 

 

“Do you know how long you’ve been like this?” Yixing asks.

 

“What’s the date?” Baekhyun asks raising his arms appreciating the sensation. 

 

“17th of August” Jongin answers helping Baekhyun stand. 

 

“Oh” Baekhyun says thinking “About 10 days”

 

Yixing places his hand back on Baekhyun and closes his eyes. 

 

“His body was damaged by being unconscious for so long, I can’t fix it right now” Yixing says bringing Baekhyun a wheelchair from the corner of the room. “I think he’ll have trouble running” 

 

They run and push Baekhyun through the halls some more trying to find another person, it only takes them 5 minutes to find Sehun. Sehun was chained up to the hospital bed, sweating profusely. 

 

“This is very different” Yixing says “He’s been given some sort of virus?”

 

Yixing assures them he can reverse it and cure him. It’s strange that they gave him that but in any case they fix Sehun up in a few minutes. 

 

“Thank you” Sehun yawns “That was awful! I got so weak I couldn’t pull on the handcuffs anymore... hey why aren’t my handcuff wounds healed.”

 

“I need to conserve my strength for the others.” Yixing answers “Sorry Sehun.”

 

“Wait we should leave right?” Sehun says regaining his ability to think properly “Before the ladies come back?”

 

“Luhan should be coming to help” Jongin explains “But we need to get Kyungsoo and Chanyeol.”

 

“Ok you guys do that, me and Baekhyun will try to escape” Sehun says jumping out of his bed. 

 

“You sure?” Yixing asks 

 

“Just go!” 

 

Yixing and Jongin do as they are told. They run passing so many empty rooms. Why are there so many rooms and hallways? What is this, a weird music video? After a good 6 minutes of straight running Jongin and Yixing start getting tired, their running turns into fast jogging at best. They find a room without a window, a good reason to stop running. They go inside and find all the lights on, there are two women in white dresses meddling with medical equipment. Jongin reacts quickly and throws the nearest thing at their heads. To both of their surprises, their heads pop off sending sparks all over the place. Maybe Junmyeon was right about the drones. 

 

Without thinking about it too much Jongin and Yixing run over to the two people on the beds, Kyungsoo and Chanyeol. 

 

“Chanyeol’s under some sort of neural drug as well but it’s acting like a poison” Yixing says frowning “I’ll reverse both”

 

Since neither are hooked up to an IV, Jongin spends his time holding Kyungsoo’s hand and rubbing his arm. He’s not sure it helps but it at least makes Jongin feel better. Jongin notices a spot of Kyungsoo’s arm looks like he had an IV at one point. 

 

“Yixing are you ok you look awful” Chanyeol says looking down at Yixing “Wait how did you get here, weren’t you at the other clinic?” 

 

“I’ll be fine” Yixing walking over to Kyungsoo, clearly drained. He places a hand on Kyungsoo and frowns “I can do this but... I don’t know how well it will work”

 

“Will you be ok?” Jongin asks.

 

“I will, using up my power can’t kill me. Pass out for a day sure, trust me it’s happened” Yixing tries to smile “But if we don’t get the poison out of Kyungsoo I can’t say the same for him.”

 

“Do it” Jongin says backing away from Kyungsoo.

 

While Yixing works, no one speaks. They want to give him the maximum ability to heal Kyungsoo possible. Eventually, Yixing stops and backs away. 

 

“That should do it” Yixing says “I did all I can, I’ll pass out and that will do none of us any good.”

 

Kyungsoo coughs a few times before looking around. 

 

“Jongin?” Kyungsoo asks rubbing his eyes “Did I fall asleep?” 

 

He gets out of the bed and goes to walk over to Jongin before coughing more violently. He falls to the ground and starts convulsing. 

 

“Fuck!” Yixing yells immediately going through all the first aid procedures. “I’m so sorry Kyungsoo!”

 

“We should call a nurse!” Chanyeol says turning around, Jongin catches his arm.

 

“Don’t they are the ones who poisoned both of you” Jongin explains. 

 

“But they helped before!” Chanyeol explains.

 

“Who do you trust them or Yixing?” Jongin asks trying to get his point across. 

 

They hear Kyungsoo scream and they both turn around. Kyungsoo is sitting in a corner far away from Yixing sobbing.

 

“The seizure is over but he’s in shock, he should go somewhere calm without bad memories, stay warm and he’ll need comfort” Yixing says to Jongin “Can you do that?”

 

“I will” Jongin’s not sure he can but he agrees anyway, he needs to save Kyungsoo. 

 

“We’ll fight our way out” Yixing says “Just get him out now”

 

Jongin gets closer to Kyungsoo who looks like an abused puppy looking all over the room. 

 

“It’s just me” Jongin smiles getting on the ground “Jongin”

 

“Nini?” Kyungsoo says looking directly at Jongin before moving forward and hugging his friend. 

 

Jongin closes his eyes and prays this works. He keeps them closed holding onto his friend until he feels a breeze on his back. Slowly he opens his eyes, he’s in the parking lot, it worked. 

 

“Kyungsoo?” Jongin asks hoping his friend feels better now that they are safe. “You feel cold.”

 

“I’m scared” Kyungsoo mutters into Jongin’s chest snuggling closer. 

 

Jongin wishes he had a sweater he could give Kyungsoo but it’s summer and he’s only wearing his T-Shirt. Hopefully sitting in the warm sun hugging will help. How do you treat shock? Didn’t he learn his in lifeguarding? Be calm? I mean that’s probably a good idea anyways. 

 

“You’re ok Kyungsoo” Jongin whispers “I saved you”

 

After a while Kyungsoo’s breathing stabilizes, he warms up and seems to feel better. Almost dying from poison and then having a seizure probably would make Jongin cry for an hour but Kyungsoo is strong. They hear the van unlock its door and look around the back. Luhan, Sehun, Baekhyun, Chanyeol and Yixing are all running towards it. Finally, this nightmare is over. 

  
  



	17. The Fluff After the Storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I didn't update yesterday! I got kinda busy and I didn't expect it.

 

_17th of August 2018, Rental house, South Korea_

 

When they are finally safe, they first treat everyone with the best first aid they can. They wrap Sehun’s wrists, give Baekhyun lots of food and water and give Yixing that pain killer he wanted. Tao suggests they get Yixing to a hospital but he disagrees. He says he’ll be able to heal himself tomorrow, for now, he just wants to rest. He's not the only one, almost everyone wants to rest and pushes their memories away at least for a little while. They won’t be able to stay here tonight, there aren’t enough beds.

 

“Junmyeon?” Baekhyun asks shakily walking over to the kitchen where Junmyeon was making a sandwich “Could we talk about what happened? Minseok and Jongdae don’t want to but I really want to vent.”

 

“Sure Baekhyun” Junmyeon says feeling fear bubble up but talking would help “You can start.”

 

“Well, it felt so real? I spent almost 2 weeks in the maze and I never once thought it was fake. I thought I saw Jongdae at one point but he won’t tell me if he was in the maze” Baekhyun says looking down at his head “I passed out near the end, I told Yixing and he said it was exactly the symptoms of dehydration and malnutrition I actually suffered.”

 

“I would love to tell you it was just a dream and to move on with your life but” Junmyeon bites his lip, should he say this? “I saw you when you passed out, you were almost out of the maze.”

 

“I was?” Baekhyun asks completely accepting it as a fact “I was so close too.”

 

“There wasn’t much outside the maze” Junmyeon says “It was just a desert.”

 

“Do you think the maze is a real place?” Baekhyun asks, somehow being reassured that what he felt was real makes him feel better.

 

“I’m not sure, I hope not” Junmyeon says looking down at the counter “Are you feeling ok? You said you were dehydrated and malnourished?”

 

“Oh” Baekhyun says feeling a little uncomfortable being reminded of his weakness “I had some electrolytes and some other stuff Yixing told me to take. I’m not healed but I feel better. Yixing says he can probably fix it tomorrow though.”

 

“It’s always nice to know that even after someone pulls a kidney out we can get fixed up just like new” Junmyeon smiles “Yixing really is an angel.”

 

“He is” Baekhyun nods “I just wish he’d get his wings back sooner, every muscle in my body hurts.”

 

~=+•+=~

 

_19th of August 2018, Tao’s house, South Korea_

 

Yixing lies back on his bed. He woke up because of the birds, they are really loud even in late summer. He’s healed Sehun’s wrists and Baekhyun’s weakness yesterday. He walks over to his full-length mirror and takes off his shirt. The bruising has started to set in, those surgeons did not care about the effects of their surgeries, clearly. He’ll probably need to wait a little to try to regrow his kidney but for now, he’d just like to heal the bruising and incision. He watches as his body heals, the bruises heal and his incision disappears. It’s incredible. He thinks about how much he could help those who can’t pay for standard treatment. After they finish this mission he’d like to get his medical licence. He’ll have to talk to Tao about it.

 

He walks into the kitchen not expecting anyone to be awake yet but Junmyeon is leaning on the counter drinking his green tea.

 

“Good morning Yixing” Junmyeon says with a light smile “Feeling better?”

 

“Still down a kidney but I got rid of the pain” Yixing laughs taking out two pieces of bread from the bag and placing them in the toaster “You?”

 

“I didn’t sleep well” Junmyeon mumbles sipping his tea “I kept thinking I was back in that box.”

 

“It’s a normal response after a trauma” Yixing says placing a hand on Junmyeon’s shoulder “You could try sleep aids or meditation, it might help.”

 

“I’ll try that” Junmyeon nods “I hope it will work for the others, Baekhyun seems to be adjusting well but Minseok and Jongdae are still not willing to talk about what happened.”

 

“It hasn’t been long and I’m sure it’s not something they want to think about” Yixing says “From what you and Baekhyun have said it sounds like it was basically torture. Jongdae mentioned watching Minseok choke on smoke till he fell unconscious.”

 

“It wasn’t good that’s for sure” Junmyeon shutters at the memories “I hope we catch these people and they rot in jail.”

 

“We’ll catch them” Yixing says “I’m sure we will.”

 

“For now Tao’s still trying to decode the files Jongin got” Junmyeon explains “It’s kind of sketchy that they keep all their files coded like that but I mean when you steal people’s kidneys everything you do is sketchy.”

 

“At least they didn’t take anything else.” Yixing shrugs, he’s oddly ok with the situation. Probably has to do with the fact that any life he can get in 2018 is so much better than living during the black plague. “I heard them debating whether they needed my spleen.”

 

“You were awake?” Junmyeon asks horrified.

 

“Yes and no” Yixing answers “I could hear them, but I couldn’t move or feel and since they shut my eyes I couldn’t see either. It was really weird.”

 

“That sounds awful” Junmyeon sympathizes.

 

“It would have been if I could feel anything” Yixing explains “They said they needed me alive so I knew I was safe. It felt more like a really really weird dream.”  

 

“I’m just glad Jongin got you out” Junmyeon says finishing his cup of tea.

 

“Me too”

 

~=+•+=~

 

“Kyungsoo?” Jongin asks walking into their room. “We’re going to the public pool do you want to come?”

 

Kyungsoo stays unmoved on his bed curled up in the fetus position. He hasn’t moved much aside from eating. Jongin got him to smile once with his silly little bear song. Yixing says Kyungsoo just needs a bit of time to feel safe again. Jongin does his best to help, he cuddles with Kyungsoo while they sleep.

 

“Ok well, I’ll be back for supper.” Jongin says going to leave.

 

“Stay” Kyungsoo whispers.

 

“What did you say?” Jongin says walking back into the room.

 

“I want you to stay with me” Kyungsoo says finally sitting up “Don’t leave.”

 

Jongin goes to sit beside Kyungsoo on the bed. He takes out his phone and texts the others that he’s staying in.

 

“I’ll stay” Jongin finally says.

 

“Forever?” Kyungsoo asks looking into Jongin’s eyes.

 

“And ever” Jongin responds smiling brightly.

 

“I’m scared Nini” Kyungsoo says laying his head on Jongin’s knees “I’m scared of having another seizure. I’m scared of hurting everyone, Yixing almost passed out, you looked like you were going to throw up. I hurt you.”

 

“You didn’t hurt me hyung” Jongin says petting Kyungsoo’s hair “We were all hurt by what happened, none of it was your fault.”

 

“I-” Kyungsoo starts “I guess you’re right.”

 

“Of course I am” Jongin smiles “I know it’s hard now, the last few days have been awful for you. You can take it slow, we all need a break honestly. We’ll probably end up risking our lives again but we have to do this. I know you can.”

 

Kyungsoo sits up and hugs Jongin. He could use the comfort and Jongin is really just like a giant teddy bear. Reality is shit and he knows it. What happened scared him, not just because he almost died but mostly because he had no control. Usually, when he faces shitty situations he can power through, the loss of control is terrifying. He was going to die and could do nothing but let it happen. But sitting in his room alone isn’t taking control either, he needs to push through this like he does with everything else in life.

 

“How is everyone?” Kyungsoo asks wanting to get out of his shell a little.

 

“They’re doing well” Jongin smiles “Everyone’s all healed up.”

 

“Could we go on a walk?” Kyungsoo asks.

 

“I heard the animal shelter got a new litter of puppies for adoption” Jongin smiles “How does puppy therapy sound?”

 

“I’d like that” Kyungsoo finally smiles.

 

They walk slowly, Kyungsoo’s still not feeling all that comfortable but the fresh air has really helped. Kyungsoo looks down at Jongin’s hand, he’d love to hold it as they walked but he thinks it would probably do more harm than good. If he wants to make progress getting over Jongin he needs to dismiss these thoughts.  

 

“It’s loud in there are you sure you’ll be alright?” Jongin says not wanted to push Kyungsoo too much.

 

“Yeah” Kyungsoo says firmly “Let’s see the puppies.”

 

It’s a litter of miniature poodles, 2 brown ones, 2 black ones and a little white one. They are all super friendly and lick the boys through the bars of their kennel. They spend 20 minutes just playing with the puppies through the bar before a worker asks them if they’d like to take one in the fenced yard to play.

 

“Which should we take out?” Jongin asks Kyungsoo.

 

“Mmmm this little black one” Kyungsoo says pointing to the tiny puppy.

 

“[ Meokmul ](https://www.instagram.com/p/BszY-rOgjD9/?igshid=1nixsj1c5rbks)? She’s a great choice, she’s the cuddliest of them all” The worker says “I’ll bring her out for you.”

 

They follow the worker until they reach the fenced little dog run. They take the leash from the worker and bring the little puppy inside before locking the gate and letting her run free. Jongin and Kyungsoo spend a while playing chase with her which she seems to love. She runs as fast as she can. After a little while, Kyungsoo gets tired and sits on the ground. Before he realizes what happened Meokmul jumps on him, licking his whole face, cuddly indeed.

 

“Awww she loves you!” Jongin coos sitting his front of his friend. “I’m jealous!”

 

“I’ve never had a dog” Kyungsoo smiles “I was always jealous of everyone who had cats and dogs.”

 

“You seem like more of a dog person” Jongin notes “What about me?”

 

“Hmm you seem like a teddy bear person!” Kyungsoo laugh.

 

“Hyung!” Jongin pouts, Meokmul responds by running over and jumping on his lap “Ha! Meokmul picked me now!”

 

“I think you’re a dog person too” Kyungsoo smiles, it’s really nice to get back to normal  “Have you told Chanyeol about these puppies?”

 

“Are you kidding?” Jongin laughs as the puppy kisses his face “Who do you think told me about them? He subscribed to their newsletter.”

 

“Sounds like him” Kyungsoo smiles “His love of animals even though he’s allergic is so pure and adorable. Did you know he gets shots for it?”

 

“Is he cuter than me?” Jongin says making a silly over exaggerated pouty face “Cuter than Meokmul?”

 

“No of course not” Kyungsoo says moving up to the puppy and kissing her little nose. “Meokmul is the cutest!”

 

“Hey!”

 

~=+•+=~

 

_20th of August 2018, Tao’s house, South Korea_

 

“So, after days of decoding the Red Force files I found” Jongin says upset plopping unceremoniously on Tao’s desk chair  “none of them are useful?”

 

“Well I didn’t say that” Tao shakes his head “We know what their plans with the uh ‘subject’ were.”

 

“We already knew that though, clearly, they were experimenting on them” Jongin sighs “And looking for effective poisons, which is messed up, what kind of psychopaths do that?”

 

“We also know the coordinates for a base” Tao points out hopefully “Which at least gives us a goal for our next mission.”

 

“What about the hallucinations?” Jongin asks sighing looking at the ceiling “Have we figured those out?”

 

“I don’t want to talk to them about the hallucinations” Tao frowns “I heard Junmyeon crying in his sleep last night, they clearly aren’t over it.”

 

“But isn’t it weird they all seemed to have the exact hallucination” Jongin says rotating the chair towards Tao “Like does it mean something?”

 

“I mean you heard their comments not me” Tao shrugs “what do you think it means?”

 

“Ugh I don’t know” Jongin sighs again losing interest “I’m going to go play guitar hero with Jongdae.”

 

“Jongin wait!” Tao yells scared “We banned you two playing that game! You broke a vase!”

 

“Already leaving, can’t hear you~” Jongin sings leaving the office “Jongdae are you ready to rock!”

 

Tao sighs and sits down on his desk chair. Might as well try reading over the files again for any details he might have missed the first time. He turns on his computer and opens the pages. God this is boring. Why is he always doing all the planning while the others have fun? Today he wants to be the one having fun. Tomorrow he’ll get back to this. He turns off his computer and leaves his office. He hears an awful breaking noise followed by Junmyeon yelling at Jongdae, figures.

 

“Hey Junmyeon” Tao says walking into the room “Do you want to watch a movie?”

 

“That was my favourite one!” Junmyeon continues to scold Jongdae before realizing Tao spoke to him “Huh? Tao?”

 

“Movie?” Tao repeats now that he has Junmyeon’s attention. Jongdae takes the opportunity to escape back to the TV.

 

“Oh but they’re still playing guitar hero” Junmyeon says pointing to the TV “I mean, they did just break a sculpture so we could kick them out...”

 

“Nah let’s just watch it on my laptop” Tao says motioning for Junmyeon to follow him.

 

“Your room or mine?” Junmyeon asks catching up.

 

These movies nights are always fun, they haven’t done them much since the house got to full and busy. They both get comfy under the blankets of Junmyeon’s bed. Tao places his laptop between them and opens it up.

 

“What do you want to watch?” Junmyeon asks Tao.

 

“I thought we could change it up and watch one of your old french movies” Tao smiles “As long as there are subtitles.”

 

“I think I know the perfect one. There’s not much dialogue and it’s a short flim” Junmyeon smiles typing ‘Minori court métrage’ into the search bar “but it’s really beautiful and heartwarming.”

They watch the movie, it’s clear this movie is incredibly artistic. It uses incredible cinematography and beautiful music to tell the viewer how to feel rather than words. The plot itself is so pure and adorable. It’s about a French artist trying to get a job in Japan to make a manga. It doesn’t start out smoothly for the artist but he overcomes the challenges and gains a drawing partner along the way. Heartwarming is certainly the right word for it.

 

“That was so amazing” Tao whispers as the credits roll “I can see why you would like it, the whole feeling of the movie suits you well.”

 

“I’ll take that as a compliment” Junmyeon laughs lightly.

 

“You should” Tao says seriously “It was breathtaking.”

 

“Tao-” Junmyeon starts his cheeks blooming with blush.

 

“I like you Junmyeon” Tao confesses “I have for a while.”

 

“I-” Junmyeon stutters, he really wasn’t expecting this and after watching the cute movie he’s having trouble forming proper thoughts “I don’t know what to say.”

 

“That’s ok” Tao smiles “I just wanted to tell you. You don’t have to respond, I just think you’re really wonderful and I’ve really appreciated the last four months we’ve spent together. You’re always there for me when I need you and that’s all I could ever ask for. Thank you.”

 

“T’es trop mignon Taozi” Junmyeon says before kissing Tao on the cheek and getting out of bed “I’m going to get some water.”

 

“Wait-” Tao says shocked still sitting on the bed trying to replay what just happened. What did Junmyeon say? Was that a real kiss or one of those french friendship kisses... wait is that even real or just a stereotype. He has to follow him “Junmyeon wait up!”

 

“What was that?” Tao asks meeting Junmyeon in the kitchen.

 

“What was what?” Junmyeon smiles purposefully ignoring Tao.

 

“You know! The french, which by the way is unfair” Tao says flustered “and the... kiss...”

 

“I said you’re cute” Junmyeon says putting down his glass and walking toward Tao. He grabs his hand and interlocks their fingers “What do you think the kiss meant?”

 

“Well I uh” Tao says looking down at his hands “I think it meant you like me back?”

 

Junmyeon steps forwards and places a light and sweet kiss on Tao’s lips. Tao melts into the kiss almost immediately wraps his arms around Junmyeon’s waist. Junmyeon wraps one arm around Tao’s waist and places one on his neck. He smiles into the kiss, he’s wanted to do this for a long time. Even though they’ve waited so long neither one feels the need to speed up the pace. Slow, innocent and pure.

 

“I am so sorry” Kris says wide-eyed.

 

Tao and Junmyeon separate and look at Kris, neither of them can really bother to feel embarrassed.

 

“I-I’ll come back later I don’t need orange juice right now” Kris says, he ruined their moment! “You two are cute though.”

 

Junmyeon laughs lightly at the situation, he looks back at Tao and smiles. He should have done this weeks ago.  

 

“Does this mean we’re dating?” Tao asks innocently.

 

“You have so many questions” Junmyeon teases “How about you answer that one yourself.”

 

Tao tilts his head down and pecks Junmyeon on the lips.

 

“How’s that?” Tao asks smiling.

 

“Perfect.”

 

~=+•+=~

 

_22th of August 2018, Tao’s house, South Korea_

 

“I’ve called you all here today to give you a little update” Tao says to everyone in the dining room “I have found the coordinates for a Red Force base, however, I think we all need some more time to heal up and get over what we’ve been through before going. There’s no reason to rush and go when we aren’t ready.”

 

“Oooooo” Chanyeol says “Is this a press conference?”

 

“No-” Tao starts confused.

 

“Mr. Huang is it true that you and Junmyeon are dating” Jongin says into his fake hand microphone joining in on the joke.

 

“Why are you all attacking me?” Tao pouts plopping down in his chair.

 

“Yes we are” Junmyeon laughs. “Not that you didn’t know” Junmyeon stares at Kris.

 

“Hey I only told Jongdae, blame him for running around screaming it, not me” Kris says defensively.

 

“Comments on why the Red Force is red?” Baekhyun asks with a huge smile.

 

“You know what you’re all dismissed” Tao says trying not the smile “Press conference over!”

 

“Wait one serious question” Luhan pipes up.

 

“Yeah?” Tao responds.

 

“When roughly will we leave for the base?” Luhan asks curiously.

 

“Probably around the 27th?” Tao guesses “Will that be good for everyone? Kyungsoo?”

 

Kyungsoo looks up to see everyone’s eyes on him. He knows he was the most affected by what happened but he doesn’t like how everyone keeps treating him like he’s made of glass. Even Jongin acts differently around him. After leaving his room he felt a lot more safe and comfortable, he’s ok! Sure he’s still having some nightmares but so do the people who had hallucinations. He’s fine.

 

“I’m good with that” He says firmly “Jongin will you be ready?”

 

“Probably yeah” Jongin nods.

 

“Let’s enjoy our rest time!” Kris says getting up  “I call dibs on the TV!”


	18. Soap Opera of the Year: EXO

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this chapter is shorter than usual, I tried adding to it but it felt wrong.

_24th of August 2018, Tao’s house, South Korea_

 

Almost dying did nothing but make Baekhyun want to make his move on Chanyeol faster. He’s just not exactly sure _how_ to do it. Knowing Chanyeol his whole life makes this tricky. He can’t just throw on some skinny jeans and eyeliner, Chanyeol’s seen that so many times. He’s tried flirting but Chanyeol seems to just get uncomfortable and then he leaves. He needs to make Chanyeol want him without throwing himself on him. Baekhyun decides he needs a second opinion on this. He knocks on Sehun’s door.

 

“It’s open!” Sehun calls from inside.

 

“I need your advice” Baekhyun says walking in and immediately laying on Sehun’s bed.

 

“If this is about Chanyeol, just tell him how you feel” Sehun rolls his eyes.

 

“We both know that’s not what I’m doing” Baekhyun dismisses “You’re gay right?”

 

“Uh” Sehun frowns “Where is this going?”

 

“Well what do you like in a guy?” Baekhyun asks ignoring Sehun.

 

“I didn’t even say I was-” Sehun’s cut off when Baekhyun gives him a look “Ok whatever, personally I like tall guys, prominent adam’s apple...”

 

“You’re describing the opposite of me!” Baekhyun yells throwing a pillow at Sehun “Dick!”

 

“Maybe I was” Sehun laughs “I don’t like you”

 

“I don’t like you either!” Baekhyun pouts “Too bony, too... dorito-y”

 

“Nice to know you’re not shallow” Sehun laughs.

 

“Yeah yeah, whatever” Baekhyun fake laughs “What would make you fall for a guy then?”

 

“Baekhyun, you’re literally bi stop acting like I’m your gay best friend” Sehun scoffs “Ask yourself these questions.”

 

“Of course I consulted my amazing advice first” Baekhyun pretends to be offended “But I want your advice now.”

 

“Fine” Sehun sighs “Have you tried dressing more... like you know...”

 

“He’s seen all my sexiest outfits” Baekhyun pouts.

 

“Then get something new?” Sehun suggests.

 

“I know!” Baekhyun says turning to Sehun a mischievous look in his eye. “I could make him jealous!”

 

“I’m not going to like this am I?” Sehun asks upset.

 

“Don’t worry we’ll just fake make out-”

 

“No!” Sehun interrupts “I’m not doing that!”

 

“Please Sehunnie?” Baekhyun pouts “I’ll buy you all your favourite candy!”

 

“You better get me the fanciest gummy bears” Sehun narrows his eyes.

 

“Deal!” Baekhyun says bouncing closer to Sehun, wrapping his arms around him. “You’re the best!”

 

“I know I am!”

 

~=+•+=~

 

_25th of August 2018, Tao’s house, South Korea_

 

Baekhyun decides that before the main event he should definitely make Chanyeol think there might be something between him and Sehun. Also, he went with Sehun’s advice and bought a whole new [ outfit ](https://t1.daumcdn.net/cfile/tistory/992C69335A22CD7C16), some red eyeshadow and he dyed his hair silver. This might be a step up, even for him. He steps into his shared room with Chanyeol. He can hear Chanyeol scribbling, probably working on his song.

 

“Oh hey, Chanyeol” Baekhyun says nonchalantly posing perfectly waiting for Chanyeol to turn around.

 

“Hey- Oh woah” Chanyeol says looking at Baekhyun “Were we supposed to go out tonight?”

 

“Nah, just felt like dressing up” Baekhyun shifting his weight from one leg to the other “Do you like it?”

 

“Yeah it’s... nice” Chanyeol swallows hoping Baekhyun doesn’t notice the effect he’s having on Chanyeol “Silver suits you.”

 

“Thanks” Phase one complete, time for phase two “Have you seen Sehun?”

 

“No why?” Chanyeol asks, is that what this look is about? Sehun? Isn’t that a new shirt? Chanyeol’s never seen it.

 

“Aw that’s too bad I thought we could play something!” Baekhyun pouts exaggeratedly “Well if you want you could play with me.”

 

“Uh sure I’ll just shower first” Chanyeol says turning back to his music, completely missing the double meaning of Baekhyun’s words. He hasn’t played a video game with Baekhyun in a while, so his song can wait. Has nothing to do with that V neck he’s wearing... nope.

 

“Great!”

 

Now all Baekhyun needs to do is drag Sehun to the couch and his plan will be complete. He quietly makes his way to Sehun’s room. They make their way to the living room. Baekhyun turns on the game console and places the controllers so it looks like they were playing till they started making out.

 

“Ok now lie down so I can crawl on top of you” Baekhyun instructs as he lays back on the couch.

 

“Why are you on top?” Sehun questions.

 

“Because I mean I would clearly top in this ‘relationship’” Baekhyun points out as if it’s an obvious fact.

 

“Jesus Christ Baekhyun! Shut up I don’t know why I asked” Sehun says trying to get the mental image out of his head, gross.

 

“I hear footsteps get in position!” Baekhyun scream whispers, Sehun obliges.

 

They put their faces close together but the view would be obstructed by the back of the couch when entering the room. Sehun can’t help but giggle a bit. After they hear a gasp they wait a bit before Baekhyun gets off.

 

“What the fuck Baekhyun did you just moan?” Sehun says seriously regretting agreeing to this, no gummy, no matter how fancy, is worth this.

 

“I needed it to be realistic!”

 

Minseok walks back up the stairs. Baekhyun and Sehun? Can’t they just find a non-public room to do that? Minseok hates keeping all these secrets why has this house turned into some ridiculous soap opera.

 

“Hey Minseok are you ok?” Chanyeol asks looking at the clearly distressed Minseok.

 

“Huh? I’m fine” Minseok dismisses, he realizes where Chanyeol is headed “Wait! Don’t Baekhyun and Se-” Minseok slaps a hand over his mouth to stop himself.

 

“Baekhyun and Sehun?” Chanyeol asks intrigued “What about them?”

 

“They were just-” Minseok starts, Chanyeol won’t let this go, will he? “They may have been kind of making out on the couch”

 

“He-” Chanyeol says feeling his heart sink “But we were supposed to play a game.”

 

Chanyeol goes back upstairs, he doesn’t want to see Baekhyun and Sehun doing... that. He decides he needs a bit of emotional comfort and knocks on Kyungsoo’s door.

 

“Kyungsoo?” Chanyeol asks.

 

Kyungsoo puts down his book and goes to open the door.

 

“Are you ok?” Kyungsoo asks.

 

“Remember when I said I got over my friend?” Chanyeol says finally willing to confess to Kyungsoo. “Well I lied, kinda I mean I got over him after middle school but it’s back and he was just making out with Sehun.”

 

“Woah slow down” Kyungsoo says really confused. “You like who?”

 

“Baekhyun” Chanyeol says still unable to control his thoughts “I’m such an idiot!”

 

“You didn’t do anything wrong Chanyeol” Kyungsoo says rubbing his back “And are you sure they were making out?”

 

“Minseok said they were” Chanyeol says rubbing his head.

 

“Maybe he saw it wrong?” Kyungsoo offers “Or it was like a dumb dare?”

 

“I guess” Chanyeol mumbles.

 

“Just tell Baekhyun what you saw and how you feel about it” Kyungsoo says “He’s your friend and I’m sure he’ll tell you it was just a joke or whatever it was.”

 

“What if he loves Sehun?” Chanyeol asks scared “What if I missed my chance?”

 

“Then you should support them and try to move on” Kyungsoo says sadly, he really hopes that’s not what happens. “And we’ll be in the same boat.”

 

Chanyeol smiles sadly looking into Kyungsoo’s eyes. He’s not why but the idea of not going through this pain alone makes him feel just the tiniest bit better.

 

“What are you waiting for?” Kyungsoo asks as Chanyeol sits there silently “Go talk to him.”

 

Chanyeol walks down the stairs slowly, as loudly as possible. He _really_ doesn’t want to see them together. He makes his way to the living room but only sees one head on the couch. Looks like Baekhyun is playing alone.

 

“Oh hey Chanyeol!” Baekhyun says turning around “Why did it take you so long?”

 

“Uh yeah about that” Chanyeol says trying to get the courage to talk about it “Minseok thinks he saw something.”

 

“Minseok?” Baekhyun says genuinely confused “ _Minseok_ saw something?”

 

“Well I don’t know, he thought he saw...” Chanyeol says looking away rubbing the back of his neck “You and Sehun? Kissing?”

 

“Wait if Minseok saw it then how do you know about it?” Baekhyun asks still confused, so it wasn’t Chanyeol who gasped? Well, that wasn’t the idea of the plan.

 

“He kind of let it slip when he was going back upstairs. Don’t be mad he didn’t mean to, he was just a little flustered.” Chanyeol explains “But is it true?”

 

“It was a prank” Baekhyun admits “It was meant for you.”

 

“How is that a prank?” Chanyeol says getting a little angry, messing with Chanyeol’s feelings? Hilarious.

 

Baekhyun shrugs and pats the spot beside him on the couch. He can’t tell if operation ‘make Chanyeol jealous’ worked or not but he still wants to play games with his friend. Plus he could try sticking out his tongue while playing and pouting exaggeratedly when he loses. That could work. No way Chanyeol will think of him as a brother after that.

  
Why is Baekhyun being so cuddly today? Usually, he just focuses on the game but he’s lost three matches he could have easily won because of his...behaviour. Generally, Chanyeol would just use this to his advantage and win as many games as possible but he can’t help but feel a little flustered. Chanyeol’s crush is still going strong and even though Baekhyun doesn’t mean to, he’s kind of throwing himself on Chanyeol. It’s getting hard to handle.

 

“I lost again!” Baekhyun pouts.

 

“That’s because I’m better than you” Chanyeol laughs.

 

“Say that to my face” Baekhyun says turning to look Chanyeol directly in the eyes. Baekhyun leans in closer, he knows going too far could scare Chanyeol but he can’t help it. Chanyeol’s lips look so pretty and pink. Chanyeol’s expression turns from smug to confused, his lips part slightly as he looks at Baekhyun. Chanyeol leans in slightly looking at Baekhyun’s lips. Yes finally! His plan worked!

 

“I’m uh” Chanyeol starts, looking away “I’m thirsty, I’m getting water.”

 

“What?” Baekhyun asks confused watching Chanyeol bolt out of the room. Chanyeol was going to kiss him, wasn’t he? What the hell. He didn’t make him uncomfortable, Chanyeol was interested! He’s sure of it, so why? Is he still hung up on that other crush? He’s unconvinced it’s Kyungsoo. Baekhyun will just have to work harder till Chanyeol only thinks about him. Back to square one.

 

~=+•+=~

 

_26th of August 2018, Tao’s house, South Korea_

 

“I miss my family” Jongdae says falling back on his bed.

 

“That’s random, I mean I miss mine too” Minseok says sitting down on his own bed “I even miss yours. Why are you suddenly thinking about it?”

 

“They are in my dreams a lot more since the whole hallucination thing.” Jongdae sighs “I saw them in the maze you know?”

 

“How?” Minseok asks curiously.

 

“The maze can make you see things that aren’t there. It liked to taunt me, whispers lies and showed me fake scenes as I tried to escape.”  Jongdae says looking up at the roof “I know they lived a good life, I checked the records but I don’t know those scenes still hurt me.”

 

“I only saw you go in” Minseok says, finally willing to share how he felt. “You were wearing traditional clothes and you started screaming once the exit closed. I was so worried about you till you finally escaped.”

 

“I wish I never went in” Jongdae says closing his eyes. “It seemed so inviting, I can’t believe I fell for it.”

 

“You weren’t the only one” Minseok says to comfort him “Baekhyun did too, it was clearly using some sort of power to trick you.”

 

“I guess” Jongdae mumbles.

 

“Please don’t blame yourself” Minseok says getting under the covers “You didn’t make any mistakes, you are just the victim of a sick game the Red Force is playing.”

 

“It’s hard not to” Jongdae says quietly “What do you think we’ll do after this is over? After we fight the Red Force?”

 

“Move out?” Minseok smiles “Think Tao could get us a house? As payment for our work?”

 

“Us?” Jongdae asks “You want to live together?”

 

“I can’t imagine living alone” Minseok says “It would feel too lonely.”

 

“I agree” Jongdae nods “So we get a house, what about jobs?”

 

“I mean I haven’t really thought about it but” Minseok says taking a big breath “Maybe a kindergarten teacher? Or a baker?”

 

“Not a barista?” Jongdae asks, with his love of coffee you’d think he’d want his own cafe.

 

“Barista could be nice too” Minseok nods “What about you?”

 

“I don’t know” Jongdae says honestly “I don’t have any passions, I couldn’t have any.”

 

“You seem to like music” Minseok says.

 

“I guess so, maybe I could be a songwriter?” Jongdae asks to no one in particular.

 

“I think you could be a singer” Minseok suggests “You’d be good at ballads.”

 

“I don’t know” Jongdae smiles “I don’t think I’m good enough.”

 

“We can dream” Minseok says starting to get tired “It’s good to just dream of the life we could have.”

 

“We could get a dog!” Jongdae smiles widely.

 

“No way! Not even in a dream” Minseok laughs “You’re enough energy as is, we don’t need to add a dog to that.”

 

“A cat then?” Jongdae asks, he just wants a fuzzy creature.

 

“I like cats” Minseok agrees “We can get a cat. We’ll get him all the toys he wants.”

 

“We’re going to be cat dads” Jongdae says excitedly.

 

“We’re going to be the best cat dads” Minseok says smiling.

 

“What else will we have in our house?” Jongdae says getting invested in this dream life they’ve created.

 

“Hmm we’ll have one of those gaming machines” Minseok says “And you can teach me how to play with you.”

 

“We can do that now” Jongdae mentions.

 

“That’s true, we should do that when we get back from the mission tomorrow” Minseok agrees.

 

“How long do you think that mission will be?” Jongdae asks curiously.

 

“I’m not sure, we’re just investigating the base right?” Minseok asks.

 

“That’s what Tao said” Jongdae explains.

 

“Then my guess is about a day” Minseok says shrugging even though Jongdae can’t see him from his bed.

 

“Well we can play a game together soon then” Jongdae smiles “Good night Minseok.”

 

“Good night.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not going to lie this is my least favourite chapter but it gets better I swear! I had a hard time figuring out what to do with this chapter but I decided it wasn't worth the headache and moved on with the story. I hope it wasn't too annoying to read.


	19. After Ever After

_27th of August 2018, Red Force base, South Korea_

“Why do we have these?” Luhan asks Junmyeon holding a little earpiece.

 

“We don’t want a repeat of last time” Junmyeon says putting his in his ear “This way if anything happens, we can still communicate.”

 

“But this is just a recon mission isn’t it? We aren’t doing anything dangerous” Luhan says still a bit confused.

 

“We didn’t think the last mission was dangerous either” Junmyeon points out “Better safe than sorry.”

 

“It’s just a warehouse” Chanyeol notes “Are you sure we have the right place?”

 

“Positive” Tao answers.

 

“Alright well let’s go in then?” Kris asks the group.

 

Jongin approaches the backdoor with his lockpick pack and unlocks the door. They open the door hoping no alarm gets set off, nothing. They walk into a space that seems to be the storage area. It might look like a warehouse on the outside but based on the tiny storage room, it’s more like a secret office building. There are a few shelves with cardboard boxes on them, none of them have any kind of writing on them.

 

“What do you think is in these boxes?” Jongdae asks almost opening the box.

 

“Looks like research equipment” Junmyeon says looking in one of the boxes.

 

“I think we should all split up, maybe in groups of two and search the building” Kris says.

 

“That’s a good idea” Junmyeon agrees, closing the box “Everyone make sure you keep active communication though.”

 

 They split up and search the whole place being extremely careful not to get caught on any cameras or activate any alarms. So far so good.They haven’t found any sort of staff and everything seems dusty. Seems this is probably an old base and the security is not great. 

 

Kyungsoo was the only one who found a camera and it looked like it was pointed at the only room with a lock. Jongin comes over to where Kyungsoo is and teleports into the room. No cameras inside.

 

“Ok so after looking everywhere the only thing I found is a small safe behind a painting” Jongin says into his earpiece.

 

“What kind of lock does it have?” Kris asks.

 

“It’s one of those turning ones” Jongin explains “Does anyone know how to crack it?”

 

“Nope” Tao responds “Junmyeon do you know?”

 

“I didn’t take how to be a robber 101 in uni so no” Junmyeon says sarcastically “Just leave it Jongin they probably took anything important out when they abandoned this place.”

 

“Ok” Jongin agrees before teleporting him and Kyungsoo back out to search more of the large base.

 

Tao also finds something interesting in one of the offices, clearly abandoned. Near the desk, he finds a box full of file folders. Each one is labelled with a date.

 

“Looks like they have a bunch of newspaper clippings” Tao says to his earpiece.

 

“What are they about?” Jongdae asks.

 

“Bunch of random stuff” Tao says looking through them “Most are 20 years old... there’s some about medical practices, others about newly discovered insects. There’s no real theme.”

 

“Any about unsolved mysteries?” Junmyeon asks “Or anything that could have to do with powers?”

 

“No” Tao says still looking through all the clippings “There’s a lot on physics and energy transference.”

 

“That’s weird” Chanyeol adds joining the conversation “Maybe we should show the medical papers to Yixing and see what he thinks.”

 

“Yeah that’s a good idea” Tao agrees going back to the articles and taking them out “Yixing, I’m near the north part of the building where are you?”

 

There’s no response.

 

“Yixing?” Tao asks again in case he didn’t hear him “Has anyone seen Yixing?”

 

“Maybe his earpiece ran out of battery” Jongdae suggest.

 

“But he was with Luhan” Baekhyun adds, “You think both of their earpieces aren’t working?”

 

“Ok, we’ll go find them” Junmyeon says “Everyone meet in the storage room.”

 

Tao does as he’s told, he grabs the medical papers and makes his way to the little storage room. It takes him a while since he was at the opposite end of the building. When he gets there Chanyeol, Baekhyun, Jongin, Junmyeon, Jongdae and Sehun are already there.

 

“Where are the others?” Tao asks when he walks in “I was the farthest away.”

 

“Kris, Kyungsoo, Minseok are you on your way?” Junmyeon asks pushing on the button on his earpiece so everyone can hear him. Again, no response.

 

“That’s not good” Baekhyun says pointing out the obvious  “Now 5 people aren’t responding, do you think they are ok?”

 

“We need to find them” Junmyeon says taking control “No one is splitting up, we’re staying all together. No way we are risking losing another person.”

 

They slowly explore the base looking for their missing friends. Junmyeon almost convinces them they have to hold hands so no one gets lost but they point out that they aren’t 4 and can walk on their own. Eventually, they find an open door so they decide to investigate the room together. They walk in and it seems like a regular office but they find Minseok’s snapback on the ground.

 

“So at least Minseok was here” Jongdae says holding it “This is his favourite hat though I wonder why he woul-”

 

Jongdae gets cut off when all their earpieces short wire in their ears. They all throw them out as quickly as possible since it really hurts.

 

“What was that!” Baekhyun yells rubbing his ear.

 

“Probably what happened to the others” Tao remarks.

 

“Maybe there’s something in this room that messes with electronics” Junmyeon proposes examining his smoking earpiece.

 

“Uh guys?” Chanyeol asks getting everyone’s attention “Who closed the door?”

 

“No one?” Sehun says scared “I was the last one in and I didn’t close it”

 

Chanyeol walks over to the door and tries opening it but it’s locked.

 

“So we’re trapped like in a cheap horror flim?” Baekhyun says with his voice a little higher than usual, he tries to mask his fear but it doesn’t work well “Does anyone think the air tastes weird or is that just me?”

 

“It’s just you hyung” Sehun says.

 

“Ok no need to panic, the others got out so we can too” Junmyeon says “I’m sure there’s some sort of escape route just in case someone from the Red Force got trapped by accident. Let’s find it.”

 

“Couldn’t Jongin just teleport us out?” Baekhyun asks not liking being trapped at all, reminds him of the awful maze.

 

“I could but that won’t help us find the others” Jongin says already searching the desk for any sort of panic button.

 

They look around the room for anything that could be an escape lever or button. Nothing under the desk, nothing behind the clock or paintings.

 

“Did someone check the bookshelf?” Jongdae asks going through the drawers of the cabinet.

 

“That would a dumb cliche” Jongin says before walking over and pulling on random books.

 

“I found something” Tao says as he lifts the rug off the floor “Looks like a trap door.”

 

“Well let’s go down then” Chanyeol says walking towards it before everyone gives him a weird look “What? It’s either go down or stay stuck in this stuffy office.”

 

“Fair point” Sehun nods.

 

“Let’s do it” Jongdae says still holding Minseok’s hat “We need to find them.”

 

They all eventually climb down to the basement. The lights are still really faint but the basement looks unfinished, the walls are all gray concrete and so is the ground.

 

“Baekhyun can you brighten this up?” Junmyeon asks “It’s hard to see.”

 

Baekhyun creates a small ball of light before throwing it forward to clear up the rest of the basement. They see that the basement must not be that large since the wall seems to just be 10 meters away. Except there’s a large opening?

 

“Oh my God” Jongdae says dropping the hat before running straight into the weird concrete archway.

 

“Jongdae!” Junmyeon yells “We have to stay together!”

 

Jongdae doesn’t hear him because he’s already passed through the archway and is out of sight.

 

“Why did he do that?” Chanyeol asks before looking to Baekhyun for a response. Baekhyun however has lost all colour in his face “Baekhyun?”

 

“T-that’s the maze” Baekhyun says horrified.

 

“What? Are you sure?” Junmyeon says walking closer to Baekhyun.

 

“The maze was just a dream though” Jongin says before Baekhyun and Junmyeon shoot him nasty looks.

 

“It’s the maze hyung.” Baekhyun says extremely seriously to Junmyeon ignoring Jongin.

 

“We’ll stay together” Junmyeon says to Baekhyun “It will be fine, we won’t be separated. We’ll find everyone and get out, ok?”

 

“Ok” Baekhyun nods.

 

They enter the maze all together making sure to stay close together. As soon as they cross the threshold, it closes behind them.

 

“What?” Chanyeol says looking behind them at the concrete wall, there’s no sign it was ever open. He feels for some sort of break in the wall but there isn’t one. “That’s not possible! Concrete can’t do that! There’s no seem!”

 

“That’s the least of our troubles” Baekhyun says before grabbing tightly on Chanyeol’s arm.

 

“What do you mean?” Chanyeol says looking down at Baekhyun.

 

“We lost the group” Baekhyun whimpers into Chanyeol’s arm “Don’t let go of me.”

 

“Baekhyun?” Junmyeon calls from the other side of a concrete wall “We’re trapped on this side of the maze but you have Chanyeol right?”

 

“Yeah I’m with him!” Chanyeol says for Baekhyun who’s still holding tightly onto Chanyeol’s arm, eyes shut. “It’s ok Baekhyun they are fine, we’ll be ok too. Let’s go try to find the others.”

 

“The maze whispers to you Chanyeol” Baekhyun says not loosening his grip one bit “It shows you horrible things, all your fears.”

 

“But I’m here this time” Chanyeol says trying to comfort Baekhyun by petting his hair but the angle makes it awkward “We can get through this together. Do you trust me?”

 

Baekhyun opens his eyes and loosens his grip a little. He bites his lip and thinks about it before his body becomes more relaxed and he nods slowly.

 

“Ok let’s go find the others”

 

~=+•+=~

 

Jongdae keeps running. He has to find Minseok, he can’t let him go through this maze alone! He knows some of the paths through this maze but with the walls continuously moving it’s hard to remember where he’s been. Jongdae stops for a moment and thinks. He then shoots a small bolt of lightning at the wall leaving a little burnt spot. Perfect! Now he can create a little trail, hopefully, that will help.

Jongdae also shoots a bolt at the ceiling hoping someone might see and come to him. He looks up and sees a bright beam of light. So Baekhyun at least knows where he is that’s good. From the looks of the light, Baekhyun isn’t too far. He can’t see too much of the ceiling since the walls are very tall but he does see a spot of the roof slowly growing ice crystals. Genius! Jongdae runs in that direction, he can find Minseok!

 

“Where do you think you’re going?” Jongdeok’s ghostly image says appearing in front of his brother as the concrete wall closes his way out, trapping him in the small hall.

 

“I don’t have time for stupid maze tricks!” Jongdae yells “Let me get to Minseok!”

 

“Why do you even care about that peasant?” Jongdeok says “You were always too soft with him. He needed to know his place.”

 

“Don’t speak about him like that!” Jongdae says, he hates falling for the mazes tricks but he has to get this off his chest “He’s as much of a person as I am and he deserves just as much respect. He deserves more respect actually! His job wasn’t easy, he risked his life everyday for me! Now I’ll pay him back!”

 

“You’re wasting your life on pond scum?” Jongdeok says sarcastically “Seems about right.”

 

“Fuck you!” Jongdae yells back tired of these comments he knows his brother would never make. He heard the maids whisper them but his brother was caring and didn’t speak ill of others.

 

“I don’t care what you say!” Jongdae says getting really angry remembering everything people would whisper behind his back “I don’t regret my decisions!”

 

“You left me alone to take care of the kingdom” Jongdeok says “You left when I needed you.”

 

“You did not!” Jongdae yells “We both know no one wanted me near that thrown!”

 

“That’s because you didn’t try hard enough” Jongdeok spits “You put all the pressure on me and I hated you for it!”

 

“You were going to be king and it had nothing to do with me” Jongdae says “The only way I would be king is if you...”

 

“Died” Jongdeok finishes “You couldn’t study and give me the peace of mind that if I died the kingdom would be in good hands.”

 

“I couldn’t study because I wouldn’t accept that you could die!” Jongdae yells back “Every time I studied prince duties I felt like I was tempting fate!”

 

“You were always a useless prince” Jongdeok says “You acted out and never followed the rules. You were spoiled and a disgrace.”

 

“Say what you will but I made people happy” Jongdae says exasperated “No matter what you say I truly believe I lived the life I was destined to live! I didn’t conform to princely standards because I was meant to live now, in the future. You lived fine without me! I don’t care what you maze whispers say I know my brother lived happily!”

 

“He’s dead” Jongdeok says breaking character “Your brother is dead.”

 

“You think I don’t know that?” Jongdae almost laughs “He’d be over 400 years old! Of course he’s dead! But that doesn’t matter, he lived well and that’s all I care about.”

 

“You won’t win” He says fading “You’re never leaving here, not again.”

 

“Watch me” Jongdae says blasting the concrete wall open with a massive bolt of electricity.

 

On the other side, he sees Minseok with his arm to shield himself from the pieces of concrete falling towards the ground.

 

“Minseok!” Jongdae runs to his friend “Are you ok?”

 

“A little bruised” Minseok laughs “Next time warn me before you explode a wall”

 

“I don’t think I can do that again” Jongdae smiles “It was really draining.”

 

“I heard what you said” Minseok says seriously “You’re right you did make people happy.”

 

“Thanks Minseok” Jongdae smiles lightly “That’s good to hear.”

 

~=+•+=~

 

Kyungsoo never thought he would end up in the maze Jongdae and Baekhyun dreamt of but based on their descriptions this was certainly it. He could see how spending multiple days it in would drive you to tears. The whispers have only gotten louder since he got here an hour ago. They tell him he’s weak, that he hurt Jongin, that he hurt Yixing but he feels a lot better than he did a week ago and it’s easy enough to brush off the comments.

 

Kyungsoo sees lightning light up the ceiling. So Jongdae is somewhere nearby? Kyungsoo tries to think of a way to tell the others where he is but he doesn’t know how. He did try to move the walls or ground with his power but guess it’s not earthy enough? He was able to control the sand on the ground though.

 

Kyungsoo heard that if you just keep your hand on one side of the wall and follow it you’ll eventually get out but since he swears he saw walls moving when he was separated from Kris he’s not sure that applies here. He keeps running down in the maze, always following his left hand just in case it works here too.

 

He ends up finding a small room seeming part of the maze. Whereas usually, he’s just running down a forever zigzagging hall, this actually has four walls creating a small open space. He investigates it and finds nothing but a small wooden box on the ground. He picks it up and opens it but it’s just full of sand.

 

“Kyungsoo?” Jongin calls from behind Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo drops the box “I found you!”

 

“Jongin!” Kyungsoo says running towards his friend.

 

“Don’t let go we could get seperated” Jongin says hugging his friend.

 

“I won’t, I promise.” Kyungsoo says holding Jongin closer.

 

“I was looking for you the whole time” Jongin says sadly into the hug “I know I was suppose to look for everyone else but all I could think about was you.”

 

“I’m ok Nini” Kyungsoo mumbles “I wasn’t scared.”

 

“I’ve just been thinking about you so much recently” Jongin says finally pulling out of the hug but he grabs Kyungsoo’s hand for safety.

 

“What do you mean?” Kyungsoo says trying to ignore how his heart starts racing when Jongin says that.

 

“I don’t know” Jongin looks down “When I see you laughing with Chanyeol I get mad?”

 

“Mad?” Kyungsoo asks “Do you hate Chanyeol?”

 

“No!” Jongin says his eyes shooting up to Kyungsoo’s “No he’s a great guy and I like him a lot I just...”

 

“You..?” Kyungsoo asks, is Jongin saying he’s jealous?

 

“I guess I’m just jealous” Jongin says biting his lip “I want to be the one making you laugh and smile.”

 

“You’re jealous because I’m friends with Chanyeol?”

 

“Are you though?” Jongin says getting a little upset “Are you two really just friends?”

 

“I-” Kyungsoo says a little shocked, Jongin doesn’t know he’s into guys does he? “Of course we’re just friends, what else would we be?”

 

“Lovers?” Jongin says staring deep into Kyungsoo’s eyes with an expression that almost seems like he’s in pain.

 

“Me and Chanyeol are just friends, he likes someone else.” Kyungsoo says immediately regretting it, he was not supposed to say that.

 

“And you?” Jongin asks taking a step closer to Kyungsoo “Do you like someone?”

 

“Uh” Kyungsoo says. Is it just him or did the maze get 20 degrees hotter? “We’ve been over this remember? The person from the 90s.”

 

“But you didn’t have that many friends” Jongin says looking like he’s thinking hard “In fact, I don’t know if you had any close friends except for me.”

 

“Well I mean” Kyungsoo says getting scared, Jongin’s going to figure it out. “I had that one-semester long group project...”

 

“Just tell me” Jongin says firmly “Tell me I’m the one you like.”

 

“Jongin-” Kyungsoo starts his voice sounding a bit unstable “I don’t know where you got that idea but-”

 

Jongin leans in extremely close to Kyungsoo’s face to the point where their foreheads are touching.  

 

“I like you too” Jongin whispers with his eyes closed before opening them and looking into Kyungsoo’s soul “I love you.”

 

Before Kyungsoo can process what just happened he feels Jongin’s hand around both sides of his face and Jongin’s lips on his. His lips are so much softer than he’d ever expected. Kyungsoo starts kissing back and trails his hands up Jongin’s back. He feels so a peace. He knows he’s still stuck in this awful maze but he feels like he’s walking on air. Jongin accepts him, Jongin loves him back. Jongin pulls away with a smile before he starts to laugh.

 

“He’ll never love you Kyungsoo” Jongin smirks “He’s not gay and even if he was, why would he date someone as pathetic as you?”

 

“What?” Kyungsoo asks confused “I don’t understand.”

 

“Of course you don’t” Jongin says before disappearing into sand that falls to the ground.

 

“Jongin!” Kyungsoo screams dropping to the ground.

 

 _He wasn’t real._ The whispers say _He would never care for you, he’s only your friend because he’s too nice to tell you he doesn’t like you. No one likes you. Jongin just pities you._

 

“No!” Kyungsoo screams violently “Bring him back!”

 

_As you wish..._


	20. Cube Entertainment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is this title a rude comment about cube entertainment? maybe...

_27th of August 2018, The Maze, South Korea_

 

Chanyeol and Baekhyun run through the maze, their arms stay linked since they can’t trust a wall won’t move and separate them. After seeing Jongdae’s lightning and responding with the beam of light they try their best to get to where Jongdae was. They may have gotten a little lost.

 

“Send another beam” Chanyeol says after they’ve been running for 10 minutes without finding anyone.

 

“Alright” Baekhyun nods.

 

He sends a beam of white light into the ceiling and waits for a response. After a few seconds, he sees the lightning again but it’s not at all where they were headed.

 

“Time to go backwards I guess” Chanyeol shrugs.

 

They run as fast as they can so they won’t forget where they are going and get lost again. They don’t even notice when they run into a dead end. The opening closes behind them sealing them in a small concrete room.

 

“No!” Baekhyun yells running out of Chanyeol’s hold toward the wall that closed.

 

“Baekhyun!” Chanyeol yells quickly grabbing Baekhyun’s hand. “Remember we can’t let go of each other.”

 

“This is when it starts” Baekhyun says turning back to Chanyeol “It’s going to torture us!”

 

“Whatever it will throw at us we can deal with together.” Chanyeol says “You said it shows you your fears right? Makes you feel weak and alone? We aren’t alone.”

 

As Chanyeol stops talking there’s a grinding noise coming from the wall behind them. They turn around and see a bunch of picture frames come out of the wall, slowly they start changing from a grey concrete to a wood frame and images start forming in the middle. Chanyeol and Baekhyun turn around to investigate the images.

 

“This is how it’s torturing us?” Chanyeol says “With our childhood photos?”

 

“That’s really weird” Baekhyun says calming down “This is kind of nice?”

 

“Maybe this is like an alternate universe maze” Chanyeol says smiling at the images “Where it just makes us happy?”

 

“I mean I haven’t heard any of the whispers since we got in” Baekhyun says believing it slightly “Or maybe the maze doesn’t realize we are together.”

 

“You’re acting like it’s alive” Chanyeol laughs.

 

“So walls can move, picture frames can grow out of the wall but a maze can’t be alive?” Baekhyun counters “But back to what I was saying, if the maze thinks we are separated, then these images would make us sad.”

 

_You’ll never see him again, you’re stuck in this room forever. No one is coming to save you._

 

“What was that!” Chanyeol screams.

 

“That was the whispers” Baekhyun says, happy his idea is confirmed “The only thing is they usually can hear you talk and sometimes even read your thoughts.”

 

“Maybe it’s busy with someone else?” Chanyeol suggests “Like 12 is too many people to monitor?”

 

“Maybe...” Baekhyun thinks.

 

“Junmyeon?” They hear a voice yell and footsteps that sound like they are getting closer.

 

“Jongin?” Chanyeol yells “Is that you?”

 

“Chanyeol!” Jongin yells back as he stops running “Wait is this a maze trick? Why can’t I see you?”

 

“We’re stuck in a room!” Baekhyun yells as he goes to bang on the wall closest to Jongin’s voice, Chanyeol catches on and joins in. “Can you get us out?”

 

“Uhhh” Jongin thinks about it for a bit, one meter directly in front of him should work “Sure”

 

Jongin concentrates making sure to close his eyes. One time he kept his eyes open while teleporting and it gave him the worst migraine. He opens them and finds himself way too close to Chanyeol’s face.

 

“Oh sorry!” Jongin yells before stepping back. “So hold onto my arms I guess?”

 

They each grab one of Jongin’s arms even though it feels a little awkward.

 

“You might want to close your eyes.” Jongin says closing his own before teleporting out of the room.

 

“So what should we-” Jongin starts asking before he feels Baekhyun fall to the ground “Baekhyun?”

 

“I’m going to throw up” Baekhyun says in a terribly nauseous voice.

 

“Baekhyun take deep breaths the nausea will pass.” Jongin says going to comfort Baekhyun.

 

“Uh” Baekhyun grunts “I’ve had the stomach flu but this feels worse.”

 

“Has this happened before?” Chanyeol asks Jongin.

 

“Not really?” Jongin responds honestly “I’ve only teleported me, my family, Yixing and Kyungsoo and they were all fine.”

 

“Aw Baekhyunnie always had a weak stomach” Chanyeol laughs “Can’t take him on any roller coasters.”

 

“I’m feeling better” Baekhyun standing back up slowly “Roller coasters are stupid anyways.”

 

“So I was wondering if you had any idea what we should do next?” Jongin asks “Junmyeon and I were trying to find other people but I lost him somewhere.”

 

“See that’s why we have a titanic policy” Chanyeol says showing his and Baekhyun’s interlocked fingers.

 

“Titanic?” Jongin asks confused, he gets the hand holding to not lose each other but not the joke.

 

“Never let go Jack” Baekhyun laughs before grabbing Jongin’s hand too “Sorry if this is weird to you but we need to stay together”

 

“Should we signal for Jongdae again?” Chanyeol asks.

 

“Wait you guys have seen Jongdae?” Jongin asks confused.

 

“We send a light beam, he sends a lightning bolt” Baekhyun answers “Haven't you seen the ceiling light up?”

 

“Oh yeah of course” Jongin lies terribly hoping he doesn’t seem like a complete idiot, it doesn’t work. “Let’s do that again.”

 

Baekhyun sends another beam into the sky feeling a little weak, he’s made a lot of light in 20 minutes. This time they don’t get a response.

 

“Dammit” Baekhyun says “Do you think Jongdae is tired too?”

 

“I hope it’s that” Chanyeol says “I hope the maze hasn’t done anything to him.”

 

“Ok so do we have a plan B?” Jongin asks hoping the older boys know what they are doing. Running around randomly didn’t seem like a great plan.

 

“Well,” Baekhyun says thinking “Chanyeol suggested the maze was being controlled some sort of computer or something, which makes complete sense. So if that’s true, maybe we can find the thing controlling it in the centre of the maze? And we can deactivate it?”

 

“I mean I don’t see why it wouldn’t be upstairs but it’s worth a try, right?” Chanyeol agrees.

 

“Ok, I can probably get us to the centre” Jongin says “Based on the edges of the ceiling I can try to picture where the centre would be and teleport there.”

 

“Baekhyun looks like we’ll have to teleport again” Chanyeol says looking at his friend.

 

“Maybe this is how the maze is torturing me” Baekhyun sighs “Ok fine let’s do it”

 

~=+•+=~

 

Kris is really tired of running around this maze. Sure it taunts him with the faces of those villagers he accidentally killed when he was young and didn’t understand his dragon power, but he’s just tired. He forgave himself for those deaths a long time ago, there’s nothing weighing his conscience down. He has done his best to live every day in the best way possible. He never stopped being thankful for the gift Tao gave him. He got the care he needed and was adopted by two loving mothers, even though it wasn’t exactly legal until 3 years after he arrived.

 

Being sent into the future, more specifically a hospital also sparked his interest in health care and it’s the reason he graduated from nursing school. He wanted to help people like those nurses did for him. Of course, being a doctor is more prestigious and has a better salary but it never interested him. Because of Tao, he was able to live peacefully and he’s never been a dragon since.

 

Though that is all wonderful, he could really use a dragon right now so he can break down the walls and save everyone. The only issue is he can’t remember how. Was it like the hulk? Did he have to get angry? How was he supposed to do that?

 

~=+•+=~

 

“How much do you want to bet this is what’s controlling the maze?” Chanyeol says looking at the brightly lit up white cube sitting right in the middle of the maze. It’s not huge, just about the size of an end table.

 

“I’ll bet one Pepto Bismol shot” Baekhyun says still laying on the floor clutching his stomach.

 

“If I carried that around, I’d give it to you” Jongin says still investigating the cube.

 

“Let’s break it” Chanyeol says before Jongin gives him a skeptical look “What we need to get out of here right? It would be easier if the walls didn’t move.”

 

“Ok well, how do we do that?” Jongin asks.

 

“Use our powers?” Chanyeol suggests placing a hand on the cube “Woah it feels weird!”

 

“Let me try!” Jongin says placing his hand on the cube “Feels like a weird vacuum!”

 

“What?” Baekhyun says feeling less nauseous “Let me try!”

 

Baekhyun gets up and pushes past his discomfort to try putting his hand on the cube. As soon as he does he feels that same weird feeling, it’s putting your hand at the end of the vacuum not that he’s done that...recently. After a few seconds, one side of the cube cracks a little and the light inside dims. As soon as they take their hands off the light goes back to full brightness.

 

“We’re going to need more power” Chanyeol says still looking at the cube in case something changes “Jongin you should go find people and bring them back here.”

 

“How am I going to find them?” Jongin asks, he found Baekhyun and Chanyeol but that was really just an accident.

 

“I can shoot up another beam! Hopefully, Jongdae is feeling better” Baekhyun says before shooting up a really bright white beam “I think the light from this cube is actually helping!”

 

They hear a very loud whooshing noise, they turn to the source of the sound and see a twister has formed in the maze.

 

“Should we be worried that’s going to come and kill us?” Chanyeol says scared.

 

“It’s Sehun!” Baekhyun says excitedly “It has to be!”

 

“I’ll get him” Jongin nods before closing his eyes and disappearing.

 

When he opens his eyes he’s in front of not just Sehun but Luhan and Junmyeon as well. Looks like they found each other. Doubling their powers against the cube might just break it.

 

“Jongin?” Sehun asks “Thank god!”

 

“Hey, that actually worked!” Luhan says happily “I was expecting Baekhyun to come running but this is even better!”

 

“Does that mean you know where Baekhyun is?” Junmyeon asks joining the conversation.

 

“I do yes and we have a plan to get us all out.” Jongin says “There’s a cube in the centre of the maze that seems to control everything, we’re going to break it with our powers. I’ll bring you all there just grab on to my arms.”

 

They quickly do as they are told not wanting to waste time. Jongin warns them about closing their eyes and also that they might get nauseous like Baekhyun but soon enough they are back in the centre with Baekhyun and Chanyeol.

 

“Jongin how are you feeling?” Junmyeon asks, he did just teleport 3 people and himself “Drained?”

 

“I feel fine” Jongin smiles at Junmyeon appreciating the concern but he’s had time to rest since the last mission and is feeling good. “All of you ok?”

 

They all nod, no one seems nauseous.

 

“Great now I seem like a baby!” Baekhyun pouts only making him seem like more of a baby. Chanyeol laughs and squishes his cheeks in response.

 

“So is this the cube?” Luhan asks looking at the white cube before touching “Woah that’s weird”

 

“Yeah let’s all put our hands on and see if we can break it.” Chanyeol says before placing his hand on it beside Luhan’s.

 

They all place their hands on and the cube dims dramatically but it doesn’t break, they don’t even create another crack.

 

“Maybe we need more people?” Sehun asks before a bolt of lightning shoots across the ceiling “Great timing!”

 

“Wait I didn’t see it!” Jongin says turning around to see if it’s still there, of course, it isn’t since lightning doesn’t exactly linger.

 

“It was like around there” Luhan saying pointing at a part of the ceiling “Do you think you can find him?”

 

“I can try” Jongin shrugs “At least I’ll be close.”

 

Jongin teleports again roughly to the area Luhan pointed to, as was to be expected Jongdae and Minseok are not here. Jongin knows they must be nearby so he yells for them as he jogs through the halls. He makes sure to listen carefully for a response. Instead, he hears someone crying. Jongin stops yelling and tries to find the source of the cries. Seems to be behind the wall, the maze must have trapped someone in another room.

 

“Are you ok?” Jongin yells to the crying person.

 

“Not again!” They yell, the voice sounds a lot like Kyungsoo “Leave me alone for a few minutes!”

 

Jongin doesn’t know who he’s talking to but he needs to save Kyungsoo. Jongin teleports to the other side of the wall, just like he thought Kyungsoo is stuck in a very small room with nothing but a little black box full of sand. Kyungsoo is sitting on the ground crying.

 

“Kyungsoo” Jongin says approaching his friend “I’m going to get you out of here.”

 

“Leave me alone!” Kyungsoo yells through his tears “I can’t deal with this!”

 

“Kyungsoo whatever the whispers are saying it’s not true just take my hand” Jongin says extending his hand out for Kyungsoo “I’m here now.”

 

“I won’t fall for it again!” Kyungsoo says getting angry before getting off the ground and wiping his tears “I may be weak and Jongin might pity me but I won’t fall for this lie again! I’m smarter than that!”

 

“Why would I pity you?” Jongin says getting really scared for his friend “Kyungsoo those lies from the maze aren’t real! I don’t pity you, you’re my best friend and I love you. I look up to you! You’ve always been an inspiration to me, you work so hard and I really admire that.”

 

“Stop using Jongin against me!” Kyungsoo screams directly at Jongin “Do something else! Anything else! Stop exploiting my feelings, making me feel loved before ripping it away. I know he doesn’t love me back! It doesn’t work anymore.”

 

Kyungsoo falls back to the ground and starts sobbing again. Jongin has no idea what’s going on. Why won’t Kyungsoo just ignore the whispers and let Jongin save him? Also, why does Kyungsoo think Jongin doesn’t love him? Of course, Jongin loves him! He says it almost every day, Kyungsoo’s the one who only said it once! Jongin goes to wrap his arm around Kyungsoo to comfort him. Maybe if he holds Kyungsoo will snap out of it.

 

“I don’t need you to tell me he doesn’t love me” Kyungsoo cries harder “I already know it!”

 

“Kyungsoo I-” Jongin starts before Kyungsoo interrupts him.

 

“I’ve gone through this 6 times already” Kyungsoo starts “How can you possibly say anything new?”

 

“6 times?” Jongin says really confused “Gone through what?”

 

“You know what I might feel like my heart’s been ripped out and stepped on every single time but fuck it! If I have to go through this again then I’ll at least enjoy this part” Kyungsoo says before grabbing Jongin’s face and starts kissing him, letting his anger take over a bit. “That was different...”

 

Jongin stares at Kyungsoo with wide eyes not daring to say anything. Did Kyungsoo just kiss him? What?

 

“Why aren’t you insulting me?” Kyungsoo says getting scared “Is this the new form of torture? Silent treatment?”

 

“Y-you kissed me?” Jongin says stupidly.

 

“I did” Kyungsoo swallows, this isn’t the real Jongin is it? No, that’s what the maze _wants_ him to think. He won’t give the maze the reaction it wants. “I’m not scared.”

 

“What?” Jongin asks even more confused “As much as I really want to understand what’s going on I need to get you to the others, take my hand and close your eyes”

 

“Ok?” Kyungsoo says, hardly understanding how holding Jongin’s hand is going to hurt him emotionally compared to what he’s gone through. Even if Jongin kisses him while he has his eyes closed it doesn’t seem like an effective way of torturing Kyungsoo. He grabs Jongin’s hand and closes his eyes.

 

“Sweet you found Kyungsoo!” Baekhyun says.

 

Baekhyun? The maze has a Baekhyun now? Kyungsoo opens his eyes and sees he’s in a completely different room with a bunch of people. If he teleported that means...

 

“Oh my God!” Kyungsoo screams before looking at Jongin “Oh fuck!”

 

“Language!” Jongin says upset “Does that mean you’re back to normal?”

 

“Why does Kyungsoo look like he was crying?” Chanyeol says upset rushing to Kyungsoo’s side.

 

“Jongin I’m so sorry!” Kyungsoo yells “I didn’t mean it!”

 

“Maybe Jongin should go find others while we comfort Kyungsoo” Chanyeol suggest “Would you like that?”

 

“Yes” Kyungsoo says pitifully as the consequences of his actions set in further, he needs to talk to Chanyeol.

 

“Ok” Jongin nods, he’s willing to do whatever Kyungsoo needs, he’s clearly not well “I’ll go back and look for Jongdae.”

 

After Jongin leaves, Chanyeol goes to hug Kyungsoo, who very willingly hugs him back.

 

“I fucked up” Kyungsoo says still shaking but pulls out of the hug to look at Chanyeol

 

“Jongin doesn’t seem mad” Chanyeol whispers calmly “You’ll be ok.”

 

“No, I-” Kyungsoo starts before looking at everyone else “Is there a way we can talk privately?”

 

“If we leave this room we might not be able to get back” Chanyeol states “But Jongin could probably just teleport us back in.”

 

They leave through one of the entry arches, there’s one on each wall and since the room is a hexagon there are 6 ways out. Kind of an odd design. Of course, the wall shuts them out of the room.

 

“It’s a long story,” Kyungsoo says looking down “Are you sure you want to hear it?”

 

“Of course”

 

Kyungsoo tells Chanyeol every detail of what happened to him, all 6 times and then the last apparently real time.

 

“You see how this is an issue” Kyungsoo says at the end.

 

“I’m sorry you went through that” Chanyeol says placing a hand on Kyungsoo’s shoulder “I think you owe Jongin the whole explanation though.”

 

“All of it?” Kyungsoo asks scared.

 

“I don’t see a way around it” Chanyeol says frowning, the whole thing is really awful “I’m sure he’ll be kind. You know him better than I do but he didn’t freak out at all, he seems really concerned about you from what you said. Not telling him when it’s clear you’re hiding something will put a strain on your friendship.”

 

“Suddenly I’m not excited to leave this place” Kyungsoo says with a sad smile.

 

“I am breaking the wall down!” Jongdae yells “Stand back!”

 

Kyungsoo and Chanyeol stand back although they are a bit confused. The wall blasts into many pieces of concrete, clearing a way back into the main room. Kyungsoo and Chanyeol walk back into the room and join the others. Turns out Jongdae was with Minseok and Yixing so now, they are only missing Tao and Kris now.

 

“Let’s try this one more time before I get Tao and Kris” Jongin says placing his hand on the cube.

 

They one by one add their hands, each hand added the light dims and once all 10 are on the cube the crack does get bigger but nothing else happens.

 

“Looks like we’ll need the others” Junmyeon comments “How are you going to find them?”

 

“I’m not sure-” Jongin starts before they all hear footsteps approaching quickly.

 

“Thank God!” Kris yells while running in the room with Tao right beside him “So we’re the last ones to join the party?”

 

“Taozi!” Junmyeon yells running over to hug his boyfriend “I missed you!”

 

“I missed you too” Tao says sadly holding Junmyeon closer “The maze made me think you broke up with me.”

 

“I’m sorry” Junmyeon says before pecking Tao on the lips “I promise that never happened, I finally get to call you mine, you can’t get rid of me that easily. Now, let’s end it’s awful tricks.”

 

“How?” Tao asks Junmyeon.

 

“Hate to intrude but” Baekhyun starts “we just need to all place our hands on this cube and overload it with our powers. We hope anyways.”

 

“Ok I’m down” Kris nods “Tao?”

 

Tao nods in response, again they each put their hands on the cube and feed their power into it. The light keeps dimming until they have 11 hands on the cube. The cube suddenly goes from dim light to a bright red light and explodes sending them all flying. No one gets hurt apart from some tiny bruises Yixing doesn’t even bother to fix. The other 5 walls shut closed, one is still broken because of Jongdae. They also hear the distinct sound of the trap door unlocking as it echoes through the basement. The cube must have messed with their hearing because they couldn’t hear each other screaming earlier yet that unlock was clear as day.

 

“I’ll just teleport us out” Jongin says “Save us the walk back, I can carry about 3 people at a time so I’ll do a few trips.”

 

First Chanyeol, Baekhyun and Kyungsoo grab onto Jongin and they all close their eyes waiting to be teleported. They open their eyes and find they haven’t moved at all.

 

“Jongin?” Chanyeol asks letting go of Jongin’s arm. “Why are we still here.”

 

“That’s weird” Jongin says “I can’t feel the power anymore. Someone else test out their power.”

 

Everyone tries to summon some sort of power with no success except Baekhyun who creates a cute little star in his hand.

 

“Baekhyun you didn’t touch the cube did you?” Junmyeon asks.

 

“No it exploded before I could” Baekhyun explains.

 

“I think...” Junmyeon starts feeling extremely scared “The cube took our powers.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I’m being so mean to Kyungsoo recently! Sorry, Kyungsoo promise I’ll be nice soon! ;)


	21. The Kim Jong Bros Alliance

_29th of August 2018, Tao’s House, South Korea_

 

Kyungsoo knows he can’t put this off anymore. Jongin has been understanding and hasn’t brought up the... kiss, but Kyungsoo can’t leave him without an explanation forever. He takes 3 deep breaths and walks into his room. 

 

“I’m ready to talk” Kyungsoo says firmly before looking up at Jongin who puts down his phone. 

 

“Are you sure?” Jongin says not wanting to pressure his friend. 

 

“Promise you won’t say anything until I’m done talking?” Kyungsoo asks it’s easier to talk if he can pretend he isn’t talking to Jongin.

 

“Of course” Jongin nods.

 

“So it started when I walked into the room to inspect the box you saw in the centre of the room. The wall must have locked me in but I didn’t notice because you, well a fake you, appeared. He was exactly like you, we hugged and I wasn’t alone anymore. It felt really nice. Then we started talking and he was saying how he was jealous of the time I spend with Chanyeol. He thought I was dating Chanyeol. Crazy right?” Kyungsoo laughs sadly looking down at his hands “Then he uhh... told me he loved me? He kissed me and I felt so happy. Then he told me he wasn’t real, that you would never love me. That you don’t even like me. It happened another 5 times after that and I was so stupid and hopeful that I believed it. So when you came for real I just skipped to the only part I enjoyed but surprise! You weren’t going to kiss me back...”

 

Kyungsoo’s hands are shaking so much. It’s less that he had to remember what he went through but more what he’ll have to hear Jongin’s reaction to what he’s admitted to.

 

“Kyungsoo...” Jongin says after he’s sure Kyungsoo’s done talking, he just wants to hold him in his arms and make him happy again “I do love you, you know that.”

 

“Not like that Jongin” Kyungsoo smiles as a tear falls down his face, still not daring to look up at Jongin “You couldn’t.”

 

Jongin finally pieces it together, Kyungsoo didn’t kiss him out of being manipulated or searching for attention. He wasn’t pressured into anything by maze Jongin. Kyungsoo’s in love with him. Kyungsoo’s only torture was that Jongin didn’t love him back. Jongin doesn’t love him back. How can he make Kyungsoo feel better when he is the cause of his pain?

 

“I-” Jongin says feeling tears well up in his eyes “I’m sorry Kyungsoo”

 

“It’s not your fault” Kyungsoo smiles again “It’s just a dumb little crush, I’ll be fine.”

 

Jongin can tell Kyungsoo’s lying but he would never call him out on it. His heart hurts so much. Kyungsoo’s the one going through something but Jongin can’t help but feel deep pain. The last thing he’d ever want to do is cause Kyungsoo pain. He can’t bring himself to reject Kyungsoo or do anything but apologize. He would hug Kyungsoo but that might just hurt him more. 

 

“I’m so sorry”

 

~=+•+=~

 

_30th of August 2018, Tao’s House, South Korea_

 

“Watcha working on?” Jongdae says peeking into Tao’s office.

 

“I’m trying to hack into the Red Force computers” Tao says looking up from his computer “I found something in the files that I realized is probably a server ID, so I’m trying to break into it.”

 

“Don’t know what that means but good job?” Jongdae says walking into the room. 

 

“It means I can get more information about what the Red Force is up to, if it works that is” Tao says while working “Was there something you wanted to talk about?”

 

“Actually there is, glad you asked” Jongdae says walking closer to Tao “Have you noticed how Chanyeol and Kyungsoo are acting?”

 

“Are they not doing well?” Tao asks looking away from his computer “They didn’t seem that shaken up to me.”

 

“No, they’re fine” Jongdae quickly dismisses waving his hand for effect “I mean like haven’t you notice how they act together? In the maze, before you were there they went to go talk... privately.”

 

“They are close” Tao says going back to hacking “We all get along, it’s good they feel comfortable around each other. Trust is important.”

 

“It’s not just that though” Jongdae adds “They have a secret and I think I know what it is.”

 

“If it’s a secret they probably have a good reason” Tao says a little annoyed at Jongdae, he’s trying to work not gossip about his friends behind their backs.

 

“I think they are dating” Jongdae says ignoring Tao “It would make sense.” 

 

“Don’t you have better things to do than butt into your friends love lives” Tao sighs.

 

“No” Jongdae blinks “You’re being just like Minseok... I’ll go talk to Jongin instead.”

 

“Alright” Tao says concentrating mostly on his work. 

 

Jongdae leaves the office to go find Jongin. There has to be someone in this house who is interested in their friends' relationships. Privacy is important sure but friends are meant to share things and tease each other! How does wanting your friends to date hurt them? If someone thought Jongdae was dating someone he wouldn’t care! Who would they even suspect him of dating? Probably Minseok. Jongdae laughs at the idea of Minseok reacting to that. 

 

“Jongin!” Jongdae says running up to Jongin who was in the kitchen “Just the person I was looking for!”

 

“What’s up?” Jongin says peeling a tangerine.

 

“You’re really close with Kyungsoo right?” Jongdae says already knowing the answer “Have you noticed him acting differently.”

 

“What do you know?” Jongin says seriously, did Jongdae find out about Kyungsoo’s crush? 

 

“Well I don’t _know_ anything but it does seem like he’s started having a certain interest in someone.” Jongdae winks, finally someone he can talk to.

 

“I don’t know what you mean” Jongin says not wanting to reveal his friend’s secret. 

 

“Don’t worry, I think it’s mutual” Jongdae says smiling, “Chanyeol told me he had a crush on a friend, I think it’s Kyungsoo.”

 

“Should you be telling me this?” Jongin asks concerned but he also wants to hear more. 

 

“Yeah I asked Chanyeol he said he didn’t care if I told people” Jongdae says  
“He won’t tell me who though.”

 

“And you think it’s Kyungsoo?” Jongin asks. 

 

“Think about it!” Jongdae exclaims “They’ve gotten really close really quickly, seems fishy.”

 

“Kyungsoo’s never said he was gay” Jongin lies, he didn’t come out but he did have interest in one man “It wouldn’t make sense.”

 

“Who cares” Jongdae says “Sexualities are fluid anyways or at least that’s what I read online.”

 

“They are?” Jongin was not aware of that, he’d only just understood bisexuality when Baekhyun explained it.

 

“Love is love you know?” Jongdae says “No need to overthink labels.”

 

“I guess you’re right” Jongin agrees, he never really thought about it like that. He never really thought about it in general. Maybe he should...

 

“We should make a team!” Jongdae says “We can talk about this relationship stuff together! Kim Jong Bros! Cool name right?”

 

Jongin thinks about it for a minute. If Kyungsoo is vulnerable because he’s trying to get over Jongin he might rebound with Chanyeol. That would end up hurting both of them since Kyungsoo doesn’t have any real feelings for Chanyeol. Unless Jongdae is right... maybe he has two crushes? Chanyeol does spend a lot of time with Kyungsoo alone... 

 

“Yeah let’s do it” Jongin agrees “Kim Jong Bros.”

 

“Yes!”

 

~=+•+=~

 

_31st of August 2018, Tao’s House, South Korea_

 

“I have a theory” Yixing says pouring his coffee “about what happened to our powers.”

 

“Oh?” Minseok says looking up from spreading jam on his toast. 

 

“It has to do with that cube obviously” Yixing states “What if somehow our powers didn’t overload the cube, what if it stole them?”

 

“So we’ll never get them back?” Minseok says a little sad, he really misses his power.

 

“I’m not sure about that” Yixing says pensively “All that energy had to go somewhere”

 

“Couldn’t it have gone in the explosion?” Minseok asks intrigued by the theory.

 

“Seems like a very tiny explosion for 11 superpowers” Yixing says taking a sip from his cup “Plus that maze was obviously a trap. I think the Red Force stole our powers somehow and they might use them against us.”

 

“How could they even do that?” Minseok asks confused “It’s not like we could switch our powers over to someone else.”

 

“Technology?” Yixing proposes “I mean I don’t know how it works but it’s possible?”

 

“I’m not sure either” Minseok says, neither of them really know the limits of modern technology “They did do a lot of testing on us... maybe the Red Force knows more about our powers than we do.”

 

“That’s a scary thought” Luhan comments walking into the kitchen “you two have fun morning conversations.”

 

“We’re talking about theories of what happened to our powers” Yixing explains “Do you have one?”

 

“Not really?” Luhan says looking through the fridge “I’m pretty sure they being stored somewhere though”

 

“What makes you say that?” Minseok asks, somehow everyone except for him had ideas about what happened. 

 

“I can feel a pull” Luhan says “You guys don’t?”

 

“No” Yixing and Minseok answer at the same time.

 

“Oh weird maybe because my power was literally about controlling space?” Luhan says “I can feel it trying to pull me, it’s very faint but it’s been happening since we got home. It's coming from over there.” Luhan says pointing at the cupboard.

 

"In the cupboard?" Minseok says confused. "Are they hiding in the bowls?"

 

"No no" Luhan shakes his head "Just like generally that direction."

 

“If that’s really what’s happening we could use that to find our powers” Yixing points out “We should tell Junmyeon or Kris.”

 

“As soon as they wake up” Minseok nods in agreement. 

 

~=+•+=~

 

_1st of September 2018, Tao’s House, South Korea_

 

After spending 3 straight days of hacking alone, Tao has tried to find a partner to help him. He tried teaching anyone who had a basic understanding of computers but none of them worked out. Jongin, Chanyeol and Baekhyun all kept whining and getting distracted. Kris at least made an effort but he was truly terrible at it and the last thing he wants is the Red Force catching on to what they are doing. Junmyeon was good but given their current honeymoon phase they... didn’t do much work. Kyungsoo is his last chance, none of the others can type at any reasonable speed, they still type with just their index fingers. 

 

“Did I do it?” Kyungsoo asks Tao after completing the little hacking activity Tao gave him.

 

“You...” Tao says scanning the screen for errors “did and it only took you 7 minutes not bad.”

 

“So how do you want me to help?” Kyungsoo asks ready to help out. 

 

“For now just watch so you can see what I’m doing and then we’ll see what needs to be done” Tao says walking over to his computer. 

 

Kyungsoo rolls his chair over so he can watch more comfortably. Tao is going much faster than Kyungsoo did but he’s using a lot of the same commands that Kyungsoo used so he’s able to keep up with what Tao is doing. He watches as Tao tries to recover documents.

 

“What about that file?” Kyungsoo says pointing to what he’s talking about. 

 

“Doesn’t look relevant but as your first task, you can try to break into it” Tao nods. 

 

Kyungsoo heads over to his laptop and pulls up the file. It’s just password protected since Tao already got through the firewall. Kyungsoo launches the password cracking program Tao set up. A window pops up on his screen saying it should take about 5 minutes. Kyungsoo decides to go grab a juice from the kitchen while he waits. 

 

He walks into the kitchen and sees Jongdae eating yogurt with a clear “Minseok’s don’t touch” message written on it. 

 

“You steal from your best friend?” Kyungsoo asks grabbing a juice.

 

“Huh?” Jongdae says looking at his yogurt “Oh no this is mine, Baekhyun doesn’t respect me but he doesn’t want to get his ass beat by Minseok. Best way to keep it safe.”

 

“Sounds like him” Kyungsoo laughs before going back to Tao’s office

 

“You and Chanyeol are friends right?” Jongdae smiles trying to get more info out of Kyungsoo.

 

“Yes?” Kyungsoo says turning back towards Jongdae “Why?”

 

“No reason” Jongdae smiles “You two are cute.”

 

“Thanks?” Kyungsoo responds not understanding Jongdae’s behaviour at all.

 

When Kyungsoo gets back to his laptop the file is ready to open. In the file is only one single word document, looks like Tao was right this is a dead end. He opens it anyways in case it has useful information. 20 pages of text, great now he has to read the whole thing. The title is “subjects”. He starts reading the page.

 

_D12-_

_Power: undiscovered._

_Not aggressive, poses little threat._

_Weaknesses: Prone to seizures, K88 can be used against D12.._.

 

Are these files about them? He continues to read and it looks like this is all the information they have on their group. There were some particularly disturbing details of what they did with Yixing and what they planned to do with him. People can survive without spleens? The fact they know about their personal lives is terrifying, he tried not to look at people’s “weaknesses” but they know about Junmyeon and Tao. It must have to do with that maze. At least they don’t have photos of them. He decides to mostly blindly black out the weakness parts of the document before showing it to Tao.

 

“This is helpful” Tao says looking over the file “Why did you black out the weaknesses?”

 

“It was sensitive personal information” Kyungsoo explains. 

 

“That’s kind of creepy..” Tao says while continuing to read the document “ _11 powers have been stored in the orbs, we seem to be missing B04’s power._ ”

 

“So they have our powers?” Kyungsoo smiles “We can get them back!”

 

“Hopefully” Tao says with hope in his voice “At least they aren’t gone.”

 

~=+•+=~

 

_2nd of September 2018, Tao’s House, South Korea_

 

“Now that we don’t have our powers, currently anyways” Tao says to everyone from the porch of the backyard “I think we should all learn how to use these laser guns for when we go get them back. The government didn’t technically allow me to bring them here but I thought it was important to have a backup plan. I was right. Take that government.”

 

“Tao this is a nerf gun” Chanyeol points out picking up the gun from where it was laid out on the grass. 

 

“Technically yes” Tao nods “but nerf rebranded in the future and they are the leading brand in laser guns. I’ve set all of these to gun emit light so they are safe but they can also be very dangerous on other settings. Don’t point it anyone’s eyes though.”

 

“So we are using light guns” Jongdae points out before looking at Baekhyun “and the only person who still has powers is the one who controls light?”

 

“Am I sitting this out since I can already shoot light beams?” Baekhyun adds.

 

“It’s an interesting coincidence but like I said it has other settings” Tao says picking up a gun to illustrate “Baekhyun can’t shoot stunning sounds waves or even hyper-charged highly dangerous particle beams. So yes Baekhyun, you will learn how to shoot them as well.”

 

They each pick up one gun, luckily Tao smuggled out 15 so there’s enough for everyone. They make their way to the targets set up. They could only make 3 makeshift laser targets with the light sensors Baekhyun used with his power. They get into groups of 4 and take turns practising their aim. It’s not necessarily the hardest to learn how to aim but it does take some getting used to. Also shooting from different distances can be a bit tricky. 

 

“Watch me!” Baekhyun exclaims trying to Chanyeol’s attention “I’m going to get a perfect score!”

 

“Good luck Baekhyunnie! Not even Luhan has shot dead centre 3 times in a row” Chanyeol says smiling. 

 

“He cheated with his arrows! He used his power to control them!” Baekhyun says in his defence “Plus this isn’t archery so what would he know anyway.”

 

Baekhyun concentrates hard and makes his first shot. Dead centre! He can do this. He takes aim again and shoots off his second shot, 7 points still pretty close... Last shot hits a 6. Baekhyun’s still really proud! 23 points is the highest score anyone in their group has gotten. 

 

“Nice score Baekhyun!” Jongin smiles “Your turn Kyungsoo!”

 

“I’m kind of nervous to go after that” Kyungsoo says rubbing the back of his neck. 

 

Kyungsoo walks up to the line, well stick, on the ground and gets ready to aim. He goes over all the steps Tao told them in his head. Aim, hold for 3 seconds, breathe out, shoot. He hits a 9 on the first shot, he tries not to get excited so he can keep his aim consistent. He follows the steps again and shoots an 8. Last shot, he has to get a 7 to beat Baekhyun’s score... not that it’s a competition. He gets a 10, right in the centre like Baekhyun’s first shot. 

 

“Woah!” Chanyeol says after Kyungsoo hits the centre of the target “Is there anything you aren’t good at?”

 

“Plenty of stuff...” Kyungsoo looks down feeling a little embarrassed, he’s not good at taking a compliment “It was probably luck but uh thanks.”

 

“Got lucky three times in a row?” Chanyeol says nudging Kyungsoo’s arm while smiling a huge bright smile “I doubt it!”

 

“It’s your turn Chanyeol” Kyungsoo says switching the subject. 

 

“Go Chanyeollie!” Baekhyun cheers as Chanyeol prepares his shot.

 

“You did really well” Jongin whispers to Kyungsoo, he wanted to compliment Kyungsoo himself feeling a little threatened by Chanyeol. Jongdae might be right, Kyungsoo might like Chanyeol and they might end up being closer than Kyungsoo and Jongin are. That’s a thought Jongin just can’t stomach.

 

“Thanks” Kyungsoo smiles.

 

After a few more rounds the two best shooters in their group end up being Chanyeol and Kyungsoo, both of them hit a bullseye almost every time it’s their turn. Jongin and Baekhyun get a lot better too though, they are certainly becoming great shots. Moving targets might be another challenge though. 

 

“We should play laser tag!” Baekhyun suggests after Jongin takes his last shot “It would be great practice!”

 

“You’re right we should talk to Tao” Chanyeol says “If me and Kyungsoo were a team we’d smoke you two.”

 

“Why would you guys be on a team?” Jongin whines, throwing an arm around Kyungsoo “It would be me and Kyungsoo, right hyung?” 

 

“Uh” Kyungsoo says a little flustered. He really expected Jongin to be less affection after he found out about his crush but he’s just become more handsy and more possessive. It’s weird. “Yeah, we’d be a team.”

 

“Probably better that way” Chanyeol smirks “You wouldn’t have a chance.”

 

“I bet I can beat your high score” Jongin says taking up the challenge “Give me three rounds.”

 

“My highest score was 22” Chanyeol states “If you think you can top that be my guest.”

 

While Jongin hogs the target for a while Baekhyun decides he wants to move forward with his plan to make Chanyeol fall for him. He decides to take a bunch of selfies. He starts with a few cute ones, one where he [ pouts ](https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQZUfoLe0fDeaW7BC52JiWBfzK4XOsslt-pjPkjkVsOQBQLFgAyEQ) , one where he’s [ smiling ](https://i.imgur.com/C5pOXLj.jpg) and one where he’s being [ silly ](https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ3aK040e7O85P0RNzcYDjahVkuUt11T0jY7VznMbctKnEIcgZnng) . Then he does a few with a [ neutral ](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DiUK8T4V4AAb88B.jpg) expression before finally taking some sexy ones. He takes one with his [ lips parted ](https://pm1.narvii.com/6848/2dd453a21658ef8f995409ca64a595f1eae45176v2_hq.jpg) , one where he’s biting his [ sunglasses ](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DtU3qN6XoAEkA07.jpg) , one where he’s [ biting his lip ](https://em.wattpad.com/29fdde47ce2a7f67d95906928043a202b6ad08be/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f57764c35316b62567a3668794e673d3d2d3339313233353533382e313462303631393466626339356466343330383138363335313430342e676966?s=fit&w=720&h=720) and one with his [ tongue out ](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CLE6fSIUwAEGdsN.jpg). He’s excited to see Chanyeol reaction. 

 

“Chanyeol!” Baekhyun says so Chanyeol will look away from Jongin shooting “Come help me pick what selfies I should post next on IG”

 

“But-” Chanyeol says still watching Jongin, he’s scared Jongin might actually beat his score.  

 

“Please?” Baekhyun pleads before grabbing Chanyeol’s arm with both of his to seem extra cute.

 

“Alright” Chanyeol sighs, looking at Baekhyun’s selfies might even be fun he usually takes a bunch of really silly ones with funny expressions. 

 

“Here” Baekhyun says opening his phone to his camera roll making sure the cute photos are first “Just swipe left”

 

Chanyeol takes the phone and makes sure to take his time on each photo so he can make the best decision. So far the pouty one seems like his top choice along with the silly one. 

 

Baekhyun snakes his arm back around Chanyeol’s so he can sort of cuddle with Chanyeol. He keeps his eyes on Chanyeol’s expression not wanting to miss his reaction to the later photos. Suddenly Chanyeol’s expression goes from a light smile to wide eyes and mouth slightly parted. So his photos _do_ have an effect! Great to know. 

 

“These are... different” Chanyeol says a little shaky, he’s never seen Baekhyun selfies that weren’t cute “You want to post these?”

 

“Well I wanted your opinion” Baekhyun smirks, his plan is working perfectly “What do you think of them?”

 

“Uhh” Chanyeol says thinking of a proper response “They aren’t bad? People would probably like them...”

 

“Do you like them?” Baekhyun says not accepting Chanyeol’s response, he’s not letting Chanyeol avoid Baekhyun’s real question. 

 

“They are aesthetically pleasing” Chanyeol says before immediately questioning if he should have said it “You look good.”

 

“Thanks, Chanyeol” Baekhyun smiles “You’re handsome too”

 

“I did it!” Jongin screams “29 points suck it Park!” 

 

“No way!” 


	22. Part of Your World

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Canada Day!

_3rd of September 2018, Tao’s House, South Korea_

 

“Luhan, Kyungsoo and Tao?” Junmyeon asks peeking into the living room where everyone was watching a show “Can we speak in the dining room?”

 

“But I just finished fighting Yixing for this spot on the couch!” Luhan whines.

 

Despite the whining, they all walk into the dining room. 

 

“As you know, we know the Red Force has our powers in orbs” Kris restates. 

 

“So Kris and I came up with a plan to get them back” Junmyeon continues “Luhan says he can sense where they are, roughly. We thought if we just followed that in a car or something we could track down the orbs.”

 

“That’s not the hardest part though” Kris explains “We need a way to get them back and no offence but most of us are useless as spies or warriors without our powers.”

 

“Laser tag” Kyungsoo pipes up “We should play laser tag as practice, not only does it help us learn to aim at real targets, but also how to hide and sneak around.”

 

“We’ll consider it” Junmyeon nods “Any other ideas?”

 

“I think we should probably train more like Kyungsoo suggests” Tao agrees “If we’re going after these orbs basically blind we should we be ready to fight off whoever we need to.”

 

“How long do you think that will take?” Kris asks. 

 

“I’m not sure...” Tao says “It’s not like we have an unlimited amount of time, with our powers they could do a lot of damage if they know how to use them.”

 

“Would a week work?” Junmyeon asks “The guns are fairly easy to use and we seem to be doing a good job.”

 

“If we are able to do the laser tag I say we decide if we are good enough after that” Tao says. 

 

“Is there a way we could hire some sort of swat team?” Kyungsoo proposes “You know to help us?”

 

“Without the ability to talk to my government I can’t get any of the documents that would allow us to do that. Not to mention it would be hard to trust anyone, the Red Force could have way more political power than we think.” Tao explains “It’s just going to have to be us.”

 

“Great...” Luhan says taking a seat “So to recap our plan is, at some undetermined date we get in some SUVs and drive down the highway till I feel that we’re close to our powers. Then storm whatever building that is with whatever amount of guards that might be there and get back our powers which are somehow stored in orbs. Seems like a very loose definition of a plan, more like winging it with a theme.”

 

“You’re not wrong...” Kris agrees “But it’s all we have for now. Tao, can you keep searching their servers for more info?”

 

“That’s kind of boring but I guess yeah” Tao sighs thinking of another day spent staring at a computer screen with little pay off “Kyungsoo could you help?”

 

“I’m down” Kyungsoo nods. 

 

“Ok well, I think that’s about all we can plan for now” Junmyeon concludes “I’ll go try to find laser tag vests online...”

 

~=+•+=~

 

_4th of September 2018, Tao’s House, South Korea_

 

“I’m glad we’ve joined forces” Jongdae smiles closing the door of his room “What have you learned?”

 

“I mean I haven’t really learned anything...” Jongin says “Chanyeol complimented him?”

 

“Tell me more” Jongdae says with a huge smile “Was there physical contact?”

 

“I think?” Jongin says feeling a little weird about it “He said ‘is there nothing you aren’t good at?’ and then I think he nudged him?” 

 

“This is so great!” Jongdae says excitedly “Did Kyungsoo smile back at him?”

 

“No, he just looked at the ground” Jongin says.

 

“Awww he’s embarrassed in front of his crush, that’s so cute” Jongdae says happily. 

 

“Yeah cute” Jongin says feeling a weird lump in his throat, maybe he just doesn’t like being replaced. 

 

“Anything else?” Jongdae asks.

 

“Chanyeol also wanted to be on his team for laser tag but Kyungsoo picked me” Jongin smiles slightly. 

 

“Probably too scared to be alone with him!” Jongdae says while thinking deeply “We should set something up so Kyungsoo has to be near him and then they can have a special moment! Just think about it. Chanyeol might seem like he’s intimidating and everything because he’s tall but he’s really just a shy boy. Kyungsoo’s actually intimidating like the guy punched you in the face and accidentally broke your nose, but he’s clearly shy around his crush. They need a push! It will be so adorable because they’ll both probably stutter or blush but eventually find out they love each other. Imagine Kyungsoo going on his tippy-toes to steal kisses or Chanyeol booping Kyungsoo’s little nose. Have you seen the way Kyungsoo smiles at Chanyeol, the way his eyes even smile? That’s just going to be the cutest purest relationship ever, they are such a good match, and we’ll be the ones that made it happen!”

 

“I don’t know about that...” Jongin says not liking that idea at all. Maybe Jongdae is right maybe they would be a good match, but why can’t he just be happy for his friends?

 

“I thought you were on my team” Jongdae pouts “Don’t be like Minseok! Come on, they’ll fall in love and it will be beautiful!”

 

“I think we should get more proof” Jongin says “Kyungsoo hasn’t said anything about liking Chanyeol to me, I’m his best friend, he would tell me.”

 

“I guess we can continue our recon mission” Jongdae nods “Could be fun!”

 

“You know we have a real mission right?” Jongin asks 

 

“Yeah, Yeah”

 

~=+•+=~

 

_4th of September 2018, Tao’s House, South Korea_

 

Junmyeon sits down on the ground beside his bed. He looks down at his hand hoping if he concentrates hard enough a drop of water will form again. He’s only known about his power for 4 years but he’s always felt a sort of connection to water. Now that he’s lost his power he doesn’t feel it anymore and he’s trying not to let it get to him too much. 

 

“Are you thinking about your powers again?” Tao asks looking down at Junmyeon from the bed.

 

“I can’t help it” Junmyeon says sadly “Don’t you feel it? It’s like someone stole part of my soul. I know a lot of the others feel that way.”

 

“We know they have our powers” Tao says rubbing Junmyeon’s back “We’re going to go get those orbs soon.”

 

“I know but I still feel so weak” Junmyeon says feeling his heart sink with the idea that he doesn’t have his connection with water anymore “I just feel empty and sad.”

 

“I’m sorry Junmyeon” Tao says leaning down kissing the top of Junmyeon’s hair “I wish I could fix this for you. I hate seeing you like this.”

 

“Don’t you feel the same way though?” Junmyeon says turning to look at Tao “Don’t you miss your power?”

 

“I would but” Tao says before smiling “I’m happy with where I am in time, I don’t need it anymore.”

 

Junmyeon can’t help but smile. Tao might be cheesy at times but his heart still swells, infatuation is no joke. 

 

“I’m happy you’re here too” Junmyeon says getting off the floor. 

 

“Is there anything I could do to help you feel better?” Tao asks looking into Junmyeon’s eyes. “Watch a movie?”

 

“Movie?” Junmyeon says obviously checking out Tao, his two top buttons are unbuttoned and his smooth chest is exposed.

 

“Yes?” Tao says feeling a little nervous with Junmyeon’s behaviour.  

 

“I can think of something better.” Junmyeon smirks.

 

“You’ve been working really hard...” He gets on the bed and places one leg on each side of Tao’s legs before leaning down and kissing him much less innocently than all of their previous kisses. “I think we could both use some fun, don’t you?”

 

Tao nods not trusting his voice right now, things escalated very quickly although he’s not unhappy with it. He wraps his hands around Junmyeon’s face and pulls him down for another kiss but Junmyeon isn’t having it. 

 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you agree” Junmyeon teases.

 

“I agree” Tao squeaks out as his heart rate accelerates.

 

“You agree to what?” Junmyeon smiles enjoying messing with Tao.

 

“Junmyeon!” Tao whines before whispering “Please?”

 

Junmyeon ends up giving in, he can hear Tao beg later anyways. 

 

~=+•+=~

 

_5th of September 2018, Tao’s House, South Korea_

 

“Today we will be doing laser tag by popular demand” Kris announces “We found jackets that are compatible with our laser guns, thank you Amazon.”

 

“So today it will be just everyone for themselves but we could do some team stuff later” Junmyeon clarifies putting on his vest “5 minutes to hide in the wood, the house is not off limits but stay within the property lines. Good luck everyone.”

 

Jongin runs through the forest until he can’t see anyone. He slowly sneaks through the trees trying to find someone. He sees some movement and aims his gun. Looks like it’s probably Baekhyun or Jongdae based on the size. He waits till Baekhyun/Jongdae stops moving before shooting. The vest makes a loud noise and the person stands up swears. One person down. 

 

Jongin decides to head towards the house since the game just started he might be able to find a good hiding spot and shoot anyone who tries to enter. Not the most impressive way to win but at least he’ll win. He sneaks out of the forest without seeing a single other person. Luckily he doesn’t see anyone near the backyard so he runs across it to walk into the house. He slowly opens the door so no one will hear and walks into the house. He takes a few steps before hearing his vest make the same loud noise he heard earlier. Well so much for winning. 

 

“Luhan?” Jongin says turning around seeing Luhan hidden in a small corner. 

 

“Loser’s corner is the front year” Luhan whispers smiling widely.

 

Jongin sighs and makes his way to the front of the house. At least he’s not alone, the person he shot will be there too. Jongin sees someone sitting on the front step alone. 

 

“Kyungsoo?” Jongin asks making Kyungsoo turn around to see him “Are you the only one out?”

 

“Not anymore apparently” Kyungsoo smiles “Looks like we both suck.”

 

“Not true” Jongin whines sitting beside Kyungsoo “I shot someone!”

 

“You shot me?!” Kyungsoo yells.

 

“Oh uhhh” Jongin says realizing his mistake “Oops?”

 

“Idiot” Kyungsoo says pinching Jongin’s ear “Whatever I would have shot you too”

 

“Rude” Jongin pouts “You know what we should do to pass the time?”

 

“Go inside and watch netflix?” Kyungsoo asks.

 

“Target practice!” Jongin says “We have these vests right? Let’s hang them off the porch and shoot them”

 

“Sure” Kyungsoo says getting off the steps.  

 

They both take their vests off and find a way to hang them on the rail of the stairs. Takes a little bit of balancing but it works. They end up starting a bit of a competition of who can shoot from the farthest away.

 

“Let’s make this interesting” Jongin proposes “Winner gets whatever they want.”

 

“I’m listening...” Kyungsoo says lowering his gun “What do you want? Remember neither of us even have a bank account”

 

“Damn I forgot about that I wanted a 6 foot teddy bear” Jongin pouts. 

 

“You really are 5 aren’t you” Kyungsoo laughs “Like your littlest sister” 

 

“I think she’s 30 now...” Jongin says feeling a little weird, his baby sister might have kids of her own now “Let’s not think about that right now, I want you to make me fried chicken.”

 

“From scratch?” Kyungsoo asks, Jongin nods “Ugh ok fine then I want... you to actually watch Spirited Away with me without being annoying. You’ll like it if you actually give it a chance.”

 

“Ugh fine but it doesn’t matter because I’m going to win” Jongin says his mouth watering just thinking about that fried chicken. 

 

They’ve decided the first to 30 shots from behind the shrub wins. So far the score is 24 Jongin and 28 Kyungsoo. Jongin calls a time out for a water break because with the sun beating down on them it Jongin’s really sweating. Even in a t-shirt and shorts, he’s feeling the heat. It’s odd that no one has been out yet, 15 minutes have passed... Maybe they just decided to go to their rooms instead. That or Jongin and Kyungsoo are really terrible compared to everyone else. 

 

Jongin decides to take his shirt off to try to cool down a bit. It might have the added bonus of distracting Kyungsoo so he can take back the lead and win. Of course, he’ll never admit to that, why would he want Kyungsoo to look at him anyway? 

 

Kyungsoo watches Jongin’s muscles contract as he picks up the gun again and his mouth goes dry. Not only is he shirtless and his very toned dancer body on display but his golden skin is shimmering in the sunlight. He looks like an actual God. Is Jongin saying something? Oh right yes the competition. He picks up his own gun and hopes he makes his two last shot quickly but it’s hard to aim when his heartbeat won’t settle. The Red Force was right Jongin really is his weakness. 

 

“Take that hyung!” Jongin yells after making his 30th shot.

 

“What?” Kyungsoo says his mind still floating “Dammit!”

 

“Fried chicken for me!” Jongin says before doing a weird victory dance. 

 

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes. Jongin, no matter what he may look like, will always be an adorable teddy bear loving 5-year-old. Childish victory dance and all. Kyungsoo sees two guys walking towards them. 

 

“You’re both here at the same time?” Kyungsoo asks Chanyeol and Baekhyun as they walk towards him and Jongin.

 

“We shot each other” Baekhyun frowns. 

 

“Jongin why are you shirtless?” Chanyeol asks.

 

“It’s hot out” He shrugs putting his gun down.

 

“It’s September” Baekhyun says cocking an eyebrow.

 

“It’s still like 30 degrees” Jongin says looking at Kyungsoo “It’s not weird right?”

 

“Ummm” Kyungsoo says trying to get his thoughts sorted, bringing back the memory Jongin shooting a gun shirtless has made his brain turn back into to putty. 

 

“Jongin, can I speak with you privately” Chanyeol says looking at their exchange. 

 

Jongin nods and grabs his shirt off the ground to walk with Chanyeol away from the rest of their group. Chanyeol leads Jongin back into the house.

 

“What do you think you’re doing?” Chanyeol asks getting a little mad “You know Kyungsoo likes you, why are you messing with him?”

 

“How is that your business?” Jongin says getting defensive. 

 

“I’m his friend” Chanyeol says, he also happens to know the type of torture Kyungsoo is currently going through “I don’t want to see him have to go through this.”

 

“Are you sure you aren’t just jealous?” Jongin says crossing his arms.

 

“Jealous?” Chanyeol asks confused, what is wrong with Jongin?

 

“You like Kyungsoo” Jongin says matter-of-factly.

 

“No, I don’t” Chanyeol responds shaking his head “Where did you get that idea?”

 

“You guys spend so much time alone it’s suspicious” Jongin says feeling a little dumb for getting caught up in what Jongdae said, it seemed logical at the time. “and Jongdae told me you did.”

 

“He watches too many dramas” Chanyeol sighs “Even if I did like him, that’s no reason you should be leading him on like that. Don’t give him some sort of fake hope.”

 

“Maybe it’s not fake hope” Jongin mutters to himself. 

 

“I’m sorry, what did you say?” Chanyeol says genuinely confused.

 

“Kyungsoo said that the maze version of me was jealous of your friendship with Kyungsoo. It wasn’t wrong, I’ve been jealous for probably 2 months. I don’t know why but I couldn’t get it out of my head that the maze was so accurate.” Jongin admits “If it was right about that maybe it’s right about me liking Kyungsoo.”

 

“How does that even make sense?” Chanyeol asks “That’s not how you determine if you like someone.”

 

“Well I mean I don’t know... he’s really nice and he always knows how to make me smile. Sometimes my heart skips a beat when he smiles at me.” Jongin says looking at the ground feeling very embarrassed. “I think about him a lot. His beautiful eyes, his cute cheeks and boopable nose and lips... I just can’t take the idea of him dating someone else.”

 

“That does kind of sound exactly like a crush” Chanyeol says confused “I thought you said you were straight”

 

“I am?” Jongin says not quite understanding it himself “but does that really matter if I feel this way? Fluidity or whatever...”

 

“Well you better be 100% sure before you flirt with Kyungsoo like that again” Chanyeol says trying to be serious when all he wants to do is smile. He’s happy for both of them. “I hope you work this out.”

 

~=+•+=~

 

_6th of September 2018, Tao’s House, South Korea_

 

All the boys make themselves comfy in front of the TV in the living room. It’s hard since there are 12 of them but with 5 on the main couch 2 per loveseat and 3 on the ground sitting on pillows, they make it work. They want to have one last movie night together before their mission tomorrow. Oddly enough they unanimously chose the little mermaid as the movie for the night. 

 

Tao and Junmyeon stay closely cuddled together on their loveseat stealing kisses during the movie. Even while Chanyeol and Baekhyun get up off the couch to scream out the lyrics of Under the Sea they stay in their own little world. They end leaving to go to Tao’s room before Ariel even meets the Prince. No one dares to bring up why they leave. Jongin and Kyungsoo take the opportunity to steal their loveseat, leaving Yixing alone on the ground. 

 

They don’t sit as closely as Junmyeon and Tao were but they are sitting rather close. Kyungsoo would be flustered but he’s focused on Ariel’s story. He wanted to watch it since it came out, he even bought the soundtrack, but never got the chance. So far it’s his favourite princess movie. 

 

Jongin tries to keep his attention on the movie but he can’t get his thoughts to calm down. Ever since Chanyeol confronted him about his feelings toward Kyungsoo he’s been hyper-aware of every emotion he has towards Kyungsoo. His mind has been so full of thoughts about Kyungsoo lately. He’s even been dreaming about the kiss they shared. Sure he didn’t kiss Kyungsoo back but in his dreams he does.

 

“Jongin?” Kyungsoo whispers “Are you feeling ok?”

 

“Huh?” Jongin answers before looking at Kyungsoo “Yeah just thinking...”

 

“Don’t worry about the mission right now” Kyungsoo says petting Jongin’s hair, it might be crossing a line now that Jongin knows about his crush but it just feels natural “For now we can just enjoy a cute Disney movie together.” 

 

“Ok hyung” Jongin smiles at him. 

 

After that somehow Jongin has less trouble getting distracted by his thoughts. That is until Ariel and the prince get in their boat on the river and that little crab starts singing. What’s his name? Sebastian? He can hear Kyungsoo hum along to the song beside him. He looks down at Kyungsoo’s cute little face, he seems really into this. The prince is going to “kiss the girl” isn’t he? He can’t help relate to some of the lyrics... He looks down at Kyungsoo’s lips and his heart races. What is he thinking?

 

After the movie ends, Chanyeol and Baekhyun insist they all play the sing-a-long tracks. Minseok reminds them they sang along during the whole movie but eventually, they get enough votes that they do it. 

 

Chanyeol and Baehyun sing _Les Poissons_ together and end up bursting into laughter more than once.

 

Jongdae goes up belts out Part of Your World perfectly, everyone in the room is completely shocked with the exception of Minseok who just claps proudly. 

 

“Since when can you do that?” Baekhyun says with wide eyes “Duet with me on my next project! With our vocals, I’m guaranteed an A!” 

 

“I don’t know about that...” Jongdae says smiling “I’m not that great”

 

“Are you serious?” Chanyeol asks “We all heard you, you’re flawless.”

 

“I’m not good at conveying emotion though...” Jongdae says being humble. 

 

“I very strongly disagree with that” Yixing says. “I didn’t get chills for nothing.”

 

No one feels like following up that incredible act, plus it is getting a little late so everyone decides to go to their beds. 

 

On the walk to their rooms Jongin decides he really can’t keep his thoughts to himself, he might not be 100% sure yet but after reviewing everything he feels multiple times in his head he’s 99% sure and it’s really driving him insane. He won’t be able to do the mission tomorrow if this is all he can think of. 

 

“Hyung” Jongin says sitting on his bed “We need to talk.”

 

“Oh” Kyungsoo feels his whole soul draining out of his body, ‘we need to talk’ never ends well. He sits on his bed across from Jongin “Ok.”

 

“Ever since you told me you had a crush on me” Jongin starts “I can’t get it out of my head, I tried to get over it but no matter what I do I just really can’t.”

 

“I’m sorry I never meant to hurt you” Kyungsoo says barely above a whisper “I never even wanted to tell you.”

 

“No don’t be sorry!” Jongin says reaching out for Kyungsoo’s hand “I just mean... It’s made me pay a little more attention to some of my... emotions?”

 

“What are you saying?” Kyungsoo says confused. 

 

“Well, first of all, the maze was right I am jealous of Chanyeol and I did honestly think you two were kind of a thing. Not to mention Jongdae pushed that thought into my head a lot more. He ships you two by the way. Every time he mentioned it I just got so upset.” Jongin says taking a pause “My heart starts racing when you smile or laugh. Not that this is new but I do love cuddling with you. Chanyeol told me I shouldn’t talk to you till I was sure about my feelings but I was hoping you could help me with that.”

 

“Uh” Kyungsoo says feeling a little overwhelmed “You-you don’t like men Jongin.”

 

“Never mind that” Jongin dismisses “Can I ask one thing from you?”

 

“What is it?” Kyungsoo asks looking down at hands. 

 

“Can I kiss you?” Jongin smiles. 

 

“You won’t disappear on me will you?” Kyungsoo laughs pitifully. 

 

“Kyungsoo are you ok?” Jongin asks before sitting beside Kyungsoo. 

 

“Are you being serious?” Kyungsoo says finally looking up into Jongin’s eyes. 

 

“It’s hard to describe how I feel, honestly I’m still trying to understand it, but I’ll try” Jongin says sincerely, he gives Kyungsoo the most loving gaze as he pours his heart out “You mean the world to me. I love the way you wake me up in the morning even though I hate waking up. I love working with you even when you make me serve the evil woman. I love how you took care of me even though I know it must have been hard. I love how your eyes make little crescents when you smile really wide. I love the way you laugh. Everything I told you is the truth but if you need time-”

 

Kyungsoo cuts him by grabbing his face and pulling him down for a kiss. This kiss is definitely different than the ones he had in the maze. He doesn’t know how he ever thought the other Jongin was real. The real Jongin is much more hesitant while kissing back, but once he does he can feel Jongin smile. 

 

“So?” Kyungsoo asks pulling away “Does that help? Do you understand how you feel?”

 

Jongin nods vigorously while smiling brightly. 

 

“You’re really a child” Kyungsoo laughs at the reaction. “But I have to admit... I do love it.”

 

“And me?” Jongin smiles “Do you love me?”

 

“We just had our first kiss and you’re asking about love?” Kyungsoo asks, of course, he already knows how he feels. 

 

“Second actually” Jongin smiles “Also I’m just tired of the only one saying I love you, from now on you’ll say it back! That’s what boyfriends do.”

 

“Boyfriends?” Kyungsoo cocks an eyebrow “5 minutes ago you weren’t even sure how you felt.”

 

“I think I’ve just been ignoring it for a while...” Jongin admits, he might be a little dense when it comes to his emotions. “But can you please be my boyfriend? I want you to be mine and mine alone.”

 

“Possessive much?” Kyungsoo smiles, somewhere in the back of his head a tiny voice tells him they should wait a while to make sure Jongin does really truly like him before they start dating but Kyungsoo isn't in the mood to listen “Ok Nini, I’ll be your boyfriend.”

 

Jongin smiles widely, he didn’t expect to be so happy after hearing Kyungsoo say that but he’s never been happier. He pulls Kyungsoo in for another kiss, much more confident than before. Kyungsoo happily kisses back enjoying Jongin’s confidence. They end up making out on Kyungsoo’s bed for 5 minutes before Kyungsoo pulls away. They shouldn’t rush things, they’ve already skipped 15 steps in one night. 

 

“I’m adding you in these jeans to my list of things I love” Jongin smirks playfully. 

 

“Well that’s it, you’ve lost cuddling rights for the night.”

 

“Hyung!”

 

A/N: If you want to hear Chanyeol actually Disney songs [here you go](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDrZx1zV53A)


	23. Reentering the Cube

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (The chapter title is based on the tempo teaser tagline because this chapter is highkey based on tempo) I highly recommend clicking the links in the chapter, you won't regret.

_ 7th of September 2018, Tao’s House, South Korea _

 

“Alright everyone get in the SUVs” Kris calls out to everyone. 

 

“I call the spot beside Kyungsoo!” Jongin yells before grabbing Kyungsoo’s hand and interlocking their fingers. He smiles softly at his new boyfriend.

 

“No one even wanted it but ok” Baekhyun scoffs before looking at Jongin and Kyungsoo holding hands “Wait what’s going on...”

 

“Jongin?” Jongdae says looking betrayed “What are you doing, we had a plan!”

 

“Change of plans” Jongin smiles “I’m taking Kyungsoo.”

 

“Wait are you serious?” Tao asks looking at the couple. 

 

“Yes” Kyungsoo nods with a smile “We’re dating.”

 

“Weren’t they already dating?” Luhan asks confused. 

 

“Ok well despite feeling betrayed” Jongdae says “I’m happy for you two! You’re cute too.”

 

“That’s lovely but let’s get in the cars” Kris says ushering everyone to get in. 

 

~=+•+=~

 

_ 7th of September 2018, Expressway 20, South Korea _

 

Junmyeon keeps driving making sure to stay close behind the car in front of them. They are on an open call with the car that has Luhan in it but they still don’t want to get separated. Since they got off the highway and started driving around some random town it’s a lot easier to lose the other car. 

 

“It’s getting stronger” they hear over the car speakers “I think we’re close”

 

“That’s good because this is taking  _ forever _ !” Jongdae whines, 3-hour drives are not his idea of fun. 

 

“We’re going into an enemy building with no idea what we’re up against, we might be risking our lives, but you’re whining about the travel time?” Jongin asks in complete disbelief. 

 

“Yeah” Jongdae says as if it was obvious. 

 

“I think it’s that building” Luhan says over the car speaker “The red one.”

 

“The one that looks like a tacky nightclub?” Junmyeon asks. 

 

The  [ building ](https://www.jds.fr/medias/image/grand-casino-bale-basel-7159-600-600-F.jpg) is a large cube-shaped building, the walls are almost entirely red tinted glass. It looks more like a piece of modern art than a building. The only giveaway is the door and the large sign hung above it. 

 

“I don’t know what that means but the one with all the windows” Luhan specifies “It’s some sort of museum, let’s park in the underground lot.”

 

“No!” Junmyeon yells before Luhan’s car pulls into the lot “The Red Force could be tapping into their cameras. Let’s park somewhere else, look up this building on google, make a plan and then go in.”

 

“That’s smart” Tao says over the car speakers. 

 

They find a nearby strip mall and decide to park there. They get out and look the place up on their phones, apparently, it's a museum. The museum does have government funds but it seems to be privately owned so it’s probable that the Red Force owns it. 

 

“We shouldn’t try sneaking in the way we did before, I’m sure they have active cameras” Junmyeon points out “We’ll need another plan.”

 

“It’s a large operation, they most likely don’t know all of their staff” Kris says “So some of us could disguise ourselves as janitorial staff, some could try getting through the loading docs with the box our guns are in as 'a shipment' and they have a lounge and bar so some people could go as entertainment.” 

 

“Each group would have a different way of trying to locate the orbs...” Junmyeon nods “The best way will probably by being a janitor so Luhan should be in that group and-”

 

“Not to ruin the fun dynamic you two have but how are we going to do any of that” Kyungsoo says bringing them back to reality “We have our regular clothes, earpieces and guns. We literally don’t have anything else.”

 

“There’s a uniform store right there” Jongin adds pointing to the store in the strip mall.

 

“What are the chances of that?” Kyungsoo asks confused “Ok whatever guess the universe agrees with this ridiculous plan...”

 

“Ok great, so listen up because I will  _ not _ be repeating myself” Junmyeon says sternly “Minseok, Jongdae, Kyungsoo, Sehun and I will be doing shipments. Yixing, Tao, Luhan and Kris will be janitors. Chanyeol and Jongin will be doing entertainment since they are most qualified.”

 

“Hey what about me!” Baekhyun whines “Shouldn’t I do entertainment?”

 

“No, since you still have your power you’ll stay in the car where it’s safe” Junmyeon says before throwing the keys towards Baekhyun. “You can keep tabs on everyone and watch from a distance. You’ll be the lookout or mission control whatever you want to call it.”

 

“Mission control” Baekhyun says seriously “That’s clearly the better name.”

 

“Ok well let’s get our guns and our uniforms” Kris concludes “Time to start this.”

 

~=+•+=~

 

“So we just walk in and say we’re the entertainment?” Jongin asks Chanyeol still iffy about the plan. 

 

“Confidence is everything” Chanyeol says walking in the building. 

 

They walk into the entryway and try to not look around at the extravagant decor because they want to keep a certain level of professionalism instead of seeming like tourists. It’s hard because they have so many alluring signs about their exhibits and a beautiful chandelier, they even have an indoor waterfall. They see the large beautiful desk placed beside the entrance to the museum and approach it. 

 

“We are here as entertainers” Chanyeol says to the man at the front desk. “Could you lead us to the lounge?” 

 

“Entertainers?” The man says confused. 

 

“We were hired by  Lee Jaekyung directly” Jongin says remembering the name from their internet searches. “Did he not pass the message down?” 

 

“Mr. Lee?” The man says his eyes widening “No, of course, he did! I’ll lead you there.”

 

They follow the man towards a room with deep purple walls. Every wall is trimmed with a gold moulding, the lights are also very dim giving the room a very gaudy almost gothic feel to it. In the room, there’s a bar, a piano with all its strings exposed which seems weird and a microphone. There’s not much room for dancing so Jongin’s skills will clearly not be too useful. 

 

“The next VIP group should finish their tour in about 15 minutes” The man explains “I hope that’s enough time to set up.”

 

“That’s plenty of time thank you” Jongin nods for the man to go back to his job at the front desk. 

 

~=+•+=~

 

Minseok, Junmyeon, Sehun, Jongdae and Kyungsoo bring the 3 storage boxes they had for the guns. They pretend to carry the boxes as if what’s inside is precious and heavy.

 

“What are you doing?” A security guard asks coming closer to them before bringing his sleeve up to his mouth “Code 13 green.”

 

“We’re delivering a shipment” Junmyeon says confidently “I know we’re early but we aren’t trespassing.”

 

“Why isn’t this being cleared through security?” The guard asks “You can’t show up unannounced.”

 

“We were told to bring it ASAP” Minseok lies smoothly “It’s sensitive material, can we get it in before it gets damaged? If you have a problem with when we arrived please feel free to contact our managers but we just need to finish this job properly. Let us do our job.”

 

“I will call them” The guard says firmly “But I understand politics get complicated and you’re just trying to do your job so I’ll speed up the transfer protocols. Let me inspect them here and you can unload them in the drop site.”

 

“We can’t let you do that” Junmyeon says quickly before the guard tries touching the box “It’s only allowed to be opened and assembled in the clean room. I don’t know what the museum is going to do with it afterwards but our instructions were clear.” 

 

“Cancel 13 green” the guard says into his sleeve while backing up away from the boxes “I see. I’ll unlock the door for you, if there are any complications call us immediately.” 

 

The guard leads them down to a door near the truck unloading dock. Based on the placement of the door it seems they’ll be lead into the basement. They make sure to walk very slowly to sell the idea that their packages are very fragile. The guard unlocks the door with a long password and holds the door open for the boys. 

 

“It should go in room 15, after it’s assembled take it to gate 3.” the guard explains “I’ll inform the team of its arrival.”

 

They find the room the guard was talking about. Luckily there seems to just be one main hallway so it’s easy enough to locate the room. On the right side, they see large metal walls with the word “gate” followed by a number printed in yellow paint. It’s probably for larger shipments considering door is the size of the entire nook it occupies. They open the door and go into the room. While they were expecting a regular room for storing art pieces it, this is a real clean room and there are gowns and gloves and shoe covers in the entryway. None of them bother putting any of it on since they don’t care about contamination. 

 

“Why do they have all this?” Minseok says now that they are finally in a room that won’t have a camera. 

 

“Maybe they handle special artefacts?” Kyungsoo proposes. 

 

“This looks like it’s for technology” Junmyeon says looking around the room “It’s strange but this is the Red Force so maybe they just use the basement as a workplace.”

 

“Who cares” Jongdae sighs “What do we do now?” 

 

“We should probably wheel that weird box cart thing out of this room as an excuse to explore other rooms” Sehun adds feeling a little more confident. “It’s just an idea...”

 

“It’s a good one. Looks like that’s probably for transporting equipment that needs to stay dust-free.” Junmyeon nods “Thank you Sehunnie.”

 

“Hello” Baekhyun says over the earpieces “This is mission control requesting updates from everyone. Team Alpha, give your update.”

 

“Who’s team Alpha?” Kris asks over the intercom. 

 

“Clearly the shipment team” Baekhyun stats “Junmyeon, go.”

 

“Remind me why I let him be the lookout.” Junmyeon sighs.

 

“Junmyeon~” Baekhyun sings. 

 

“We’re in the basement, the guards let it us in apparently they were waiting on an important delicate package and they believed we had it.” Junmyeon explains activating his earpiece “We can probably investigate the other rooms without drawing too much attention.”

 

“Beautiful” Baekhyun says starting to have a real taste for this power “Team long legs, go”

 

“Baekhyun I swear to God” Chanyeol says annoyed “Give us a better name.”

 

“Nope, no time for that” Baekhyun laughs “Update!”

 

“We are going to be entertaining a VIP party so we are kind of stuck here for now,” Jongin explains while Chanyeol pouts. 

 

“Sounds sucky” Baekhyun comments “And team Beta?”

 

“I can tell the orbs are in the basement but we haven’t found a staircase or elevator that goes down there.” Luhan explains “We will keep looking.”

 

“Ok well that’s great” Baekhyun concludes “All teams keep Mission Control updated if any orbs or important information is found. Starlight out.”

 

“Starlight?” Sehun remarks “I thought he was mission control.”

 

“Mission Control is his position, Starlight is his code name” Jongdae explains.

 

“How do you know that?” Minseok asks confused. Jongdae shrugs.

 

“Luhan said the orbs are down here” Kyungsoo says ignoring the useless banter “Should we wait for their group to come down or search the rooms without him?”

 

“For all we know there isn’t a way down” Junmyeon states “I think we should start now since we need to work quickly before suspicions arise from security.”

 

“Ok we just bring this over to gate 3 then” Jongdae says pulling on the cart “Simple enough”

 

~=+•+=~

 

“Baekhyun” Chanyeol says into the earpiece “What do you think we should do?” 

 

“There’s no Baekhyun here” Baekhyun responds.

 

“Fine” Chanyeol sighs “Starlight, what should we do here?”

 

“I think you two should entertain the party” Baekhyun responds “Otherwise you’d attract attention to yourselves. If anyone needs back up I’ll alert you right away. Leave your mics on.”

 

“Wait why do you need our mics on?” Jongin asks.

 

“It’s uhhh for the mission?” Baekhyun lies badly “Ok fine I’m bored and I want to hear whatever you guys do for entertainment.”

 

“You’re an idiot” Chanyeol says turning off his mic.  “So do you know how to sing?”

 

“Uhh not confidently” Jongin responds “I can play a few songs on the piano though.”

 

“Ok let’s just go with that” Chanyeol says “What do you know?”

 

“Some classical pieces,  [ Change of Wind ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46zVNIfw10w) and  [ Creep ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGlnn5JNoVA) ” Jongin says hoping Chanyeol knows those songs even though they are in English. He’s into music though so he might...

 

“Ok I can sing those, I have a few I can play on the piano and sing so we should be good” Chanyeol nods “Maybe you could do some lyrical dancing too?”

 

“I guess I can try...”

 

~=+•+=~

 

Luhan sweeps the floor the best he can, he’s never used a broom before. Every time he pushes the dust flies in the air. Not that it really matters since this is just a disguise but it’s annoying. If he ever gets his own house he’s buying one of those little automatic magic vacuums.

 

“Feeling anymore pulling?” Kris asks while cleaning the glass cases around some small sculptures.

 

“Not particularly?” Luhan says “It’s strong but the direction is hard to pin down. I think it’s in front of us but I’m mostly just being pulled down.” 

 

“Well maybe we should clean an office then” Kris sighs finishing cleaning the case “At least we can spy through their stuff. Seems like the basement crew will be getting the orbs.”

 

“Any update on the staircase?” Luhan says into his earpiece. “Tao?”

 

“Nope” Tao responds.

 

“The elevator has a basement floor but it requires a key” Yixing adds “Should we meet up again?”

 

“I think 4 people cleaning an office will be a little suspicious” Luhan states “You two keep looking for a way down, Kris and I will do some spying.”

 

“Mission Control calling in” Baekhyun says obnoxiously “Why can’t you just pick the lock of the elevator?”

 

“I don’t have any tools” Tao responds over the intercom “If I find something, I’ll head over.”

 

“This is why need girls in this group” Baekhyun sighs “They would have a bobby pin.”

 

“Baekhyun have you ever met a girl?” Kris remarks.

 

“Excuse me I dated one for a year” Baekhyun says offended “I’m offended, Starlight out.”

 

“How did he get anyone to put up with him for a year?” Luhan chuckles.

 

“No idea” Kris laughs before pulling out the cleaning instruction booklet they were given “Ok based on the floor plan they gave us, the nearest office is just outside this room and to the right.”

 

They make their way to the closest office. Cleaning shelves is a great way to spy without getting caught. It looks completely normal on camera even if they pick up and inspect items.

 

“Seems like a normal office” Kris says dusting the books. “They have books on archaeology, modern art... everything that they display here basically.”

 

“It is a unique museum isn’t it” Luhan remarks “Little bit of everything, not that I don’t hate the Red Force for what they have and will do but this is an interesting museum.” 

 

“Next office?” Kris asks after they finish dusting everything. 

 

“Sure” Luhan agrees “Hopefully the next one will have some paper clips we can give to Tao.”

 

While walking they meet up with Tao who decides to join them since the whole searching for a staircase thing isn’t really working. They walk into the next office and can’t help feel like they got the short end of the stick. While they just go around cleaning things hoping to find some sort of interesting information about the Red Force operation, Chanyeol and Jongin are performing to a group of VIPs and the others are actually able to locate the orbs. They just do chores and they won’t even get paid. 

 

They walk into the second office and inspect the room. It has a bookshelf with similar books about art, a shelf of little knick knacks but on the desk, there’s a little jar with paper clips. 

 

“I can unlock the elevator with this!” Tao says excitedly. 

 

“And why would you need to do that?” Says a man who walks into the room, clearly a security guard. 

 

“Oh shit” Kris says turning around to see 3 other men walk into the room. 

 

~=+•+=~

 

Chanyeol walks up to the piano. He’s not sure what song he should play. He’s been singing a lot of English songs and the party seems to enjoy it. Looks like a lot of the crowd are tourists, which makes him a little more self-conscious of his accent than performing in front of Koreans. He finally settles on  [ Heavy ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdtIiPLJS3I) by Linkin Park. Before he starts playing he decides to turn his earpiece mic on. He’s not sure why but he wants Baekhyun to hear him.

 

He starts playing the intro to the song before singing into the microphone.

 

_ I don't like my mind right now _

_ Stacking up problems that are so unnecessary _

_ Wish that I could slow things down _

_ I wanna let go but there's comfort in the panic _

_ And I drive myself crazy _

_ Thinking everything's about me _

_ Yeah, I drive myself crazy _

_ 'Cause I can't escape the gravity _

_ I'm holding on _

 

Baekhyun appreciates that Chanyeol finally let him hear Chanyeol’s song but did it have to be such a sad one? He was really enjoying today but this is really hurting his heart. 

 

_ Why is everything so heavy? _

_ Holding on _

_ So much more than I can carry _

_ I keep dragging around what's bringing me down _

_ If I just let go, I'd be set free _

_ Holding on _

_ Why is everything so heavy? _

 

“Chanyeol...” Baekhyun says sincerely, he knows it’s just a song but there’s so much pain in his voice. He wonders if there really is something dragging Chanyeol down.

 

“We need back up!” Junmyeon yells into the intercom making Chanyeol flinch and stop playing.  “We found the orbs but there’s a-”

 

“Junmyeon!” Baekhyun yells snapping out of his sadness “What’s going on!”

 

“Sorry everyone” Jongin says stepping up to Chanyeol’s mic “We are going to cut the performance short, seems our singer is not feeling well. I sincerely apologize and suggest no one have the shrimp.”

 

Chanyeol catches onto Jongin’s plan and gets up while clutching his stomach. They rush out of the room and find the nearest washroom. They check all the stalls and verify no one in the room. 

 

“What’s our plan?” Chanyeol asks. 

 

“I made this.” Jongin says holding up a weirdly T shaped piece of thin metal “We’re going to pick the elevator lock and get down to the basement team.”

 

“Team Alpha!” Baekhyun chimes in “Use the right terminology!”

 

“Not the time hyung” Jongin responds.

 

“How did you make that?” Chanyeol says still confused.

 

“Out of a coke can by the bar” Jongin says “Tao taught me how to do it. Everyone was distracted by you singing that All of Me song so no one even noticed me.”

 

“I’m not going to lie, I’m kind of scared of you right now” Chanyeol says honestly “Let’s just get to the elevator. Baekhyun, where is that?”

 

“I don’t know and can’t get a hold of team Beta” Baekhyun says in a concerned voice “Ok I have the map up on my phone. It should just be down the hall and to the right of the bathroom.

 

“Let’s go!” Jongin says before running out of the bathroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My love for Chanyeol's covers jumped out.


	24. Terminator On a Budget

_7th of September 2018, Royal Old Museum (ROM), South Korea_

 

“Stand in front of me to block me from the camera” Jongin says once the doors of the elevator close. 

 

His lock picking skills have really improved, Tao would be proud. 

 

“Our cover is blown” Yixing whispers into the intercom “They are just interviewing us, don’t bother coming after us.”

 

“Are you sure?” Baekhyun asks, there might be a gun to their heads. He quickly thinks of a way to find out “What’s your team name?”

 

“Beta” Yixing whispers “I swear it’s fine, they think we’re just delinquents trying to pull a prank.”

 

“Ok when they let you out, come back to the car.” Baekhyun instructs “Team long legs what’s your status?”

 

“Can we please get another name?” Chanyeol begs. 

 

“Alright” Baekhyun agrees “Team long legs will now be called team flat ass.”

 

“Hey!” Jongin protests, his ass is not flat. “Can’t we be team omega or something?”

 

“Oh? You’re omegas now?” Baekhyun smirks “Kyungsoo’s team alpha? Yeah ok that makes sense”

 

“Baekhyun!” Chanyeol yells “Stop messing around.”

 

“Ok fine” Baekhyun sighs “You’ll be team Sigma. Team Sigma, what’s your update?"

 

“We’ve made it to the basement” Jongin says stepping out of the elevator “Where did they go?”

 

“Gate 3” Baekhyun answers quickly. 

 

They run over to the huge metal loading gate and it automatically opens, making a very futuristic swooshing sound as it opens. They run in a see all their friends hiding behind rubble as a 10-foot egg-shaped robot shoots off lightning bolts all over the place from its one claw. It seems to notice their entrance and starts forming a fireball. They both jump to the side to evade it. 

 

“Great! Back up! Get your guns out, find a hiding place and shoot at the thing!” Kyungsoo yells before dodging a laser beam shot right near his broken piece of a concrete wall he’s using as protection “Sehun pay attention where you’re aiming!”

 

“If I get up to look it will shoot fire at me!” Sehun yells back from the opposite side of the robot. “I’m better off shooting blindly!”

 

“Not true!” Kyungsoo yells “Stop it before I shoot you myself!”

 

“What is this!” Jongin yells after finding refuge behind a different piece of broken wall. 

 

“It’s a robot that has our powers!” Junmyeon yells “It came crashing through the wall when we came here. It’s not fully assembled yet so we still have the upper hand!” 

 

“It’s just absorbing all our shots!” Chanyeol says as he continues to shoot at the stupid robot. “Is there a better setting on this thing?”

 

“We’ve tried them all!” Minseok yells “It doesn’t make a difference!” 

 

“Try shooting at its red eye camera thing!” Jongdae yells. 

 

~=+•+=~

 

“Let’s go over your story again” The security guard says to the four boys “You came in the museum, pretended to be janitors and just cleaned the place? Nothing else?”

 

“We were hoping you wouldn’t notice we weren’t actually hired and would pay us” Kris explains “No one wants to hire us! We wanted some money.”

 

“Yes, being a university student is _so_ difficult” The guard says sarcastically, he can’t be much older than them though. Maybe 25? 27? “Can’t you just work at a fast food place instead of gambling your time here.”

 

“It seemed like a solid plan when John suggested it!” Luhan says referring to Kris, they, of course, did not tell the guard their real names. 

 

“Are you still pretending you don’t speak Korean?” The guard says to Tao “I heard you say you were going to break into the elevator.”

 

“I speak two verities of Chinese and English, take your pick” Tao says in English to annoy the guard.

 

“Well that’s great because I speak English too” The guard responds in heavily accented English “Tell me why you wanted to get into the basement!” 

 

“Should we make up a dumb prank since that’s what he seems to want us to admit to?” Yixing asks in Mandarin. 

 

“Ok cover story is we wanted to have a secret insane asylum Halloween party in the basement. We were casing the place.” Tao explains. 

 

“Halloween is like two months away!” Luhan disagrees. 

 

“Your languages are getting really annoying, how is it you all speak 3 languages but can’t get a job” The guard sighs.

 

“The economy” Yixing shrugs “What can you do?”

 

“Stop conspiring and just confess!” The guard yells, clearly, he has not taken any courses on how to interrogate people.

 

“If we confess” Kris says “What will we get out of the deal?”

 

“Ah ha! So you admit you were doing something!” The guard yells excitedly.

 

“No, I just want to know what the deal is” Kris plays it off. 

 

“Well if you confess, I promise not to bring this up with the police and you will only be banned from the museum forever.” The guard explains.

 

“All we did was sweep your floors” Luhan says “That’s not illegal and neither pretending to be a janitor.”

 

“Fine ok, what do you want?” The guard sighs. 

 

“So then what’s our story?” Tao says in Mandarin again.

 

“Just a regular party” Yixing proposes. 

 

“Ok yeah agreed” Luhan says “So what’s our dumb demand, make it small so we don’t seem like a threat”

 

“We want free supper from the restaurant” Tao says in Korean. 

 

“You can speak Korean! I knew it!” The guard says excited, who is this guy? Is his job that boring that finding out Tao speaks Korean is the highlight of his day?

 

“Yes, you caught me I’m quadrilingual.” Tao says smiling, sometimes it’s nice to brag about it “We were trying to break into the basement to host a party tomorrow night after the museum closes.”

 

“But you won’t if I give you dinner?” The guard asks.

 

“You’ll never see us again, scouts honour” Kris says putting a hand on his heart. 

 

“Dude no one cares you were a boy scout in Canada” Luhan scoffs. 

 

“Ok deal, I’ll bring you guys to the restaurant and then you leave and never come back” The guard says opening the door. “And we will put guards on duty tomorrow night so don’t even try.”

 

“Yay! We’re free!” Tao says jumping out of his chair.

 

~=+•+=~

 

“What’s the point of shooting it!” Chanyeol yells “It’s not working at all!”

 

“That’s not true! A gear fell off! It can’t turn right” Jongin points out “It’s just taking a while.”

 

“Guys I found a wire!” Minseok says “It’s huge! I bet it powers this thing or something!”

 

“It’s not connected to any wires though!” Junmyeon yells from his hiding spot across the room. 

 

“That’s a good point” Minseok mumbles to himself “Kyungsoo, Jongin watch out!”

 

The robot doesn’t use their powers this time but just smashes through their concrete barrier with its claw, like it’s going through foam. 

 

“Fuck!” Kyungsoo yells, he moved out of the way just in time but he could have died. 

 

“No swearing!” Jongin says before booping Kyungsoo’s nose like he was disciplining a kitten. 

 

“I love you but,” Kyungsoo says before yelling “Not the time Jongin!”

 

“Awww” Jongin coos “I love you too.”

 

The robot starts spewing out fire like a flame thrower closer and closer to Jongin and Kyungsoo 

 

“Someone help!” 

 

“Heyyy” Jongdae says to himself noticing the wires “I could use these...”

 

Jongdae grabs the wires off the ground with both his hands, leaving his gun on the ground. He walks out from his protective hiding spot. 

 

“Hey RF-05!” Jongdae yells reading the name off the robot “I have your charger!”

 

The robot immediately stops targeting Jongin and Kyungsoo and turns towards Jongdae. It seems to realize what he’s holding and moves towards him to grab the wires from him with its giant, very dangerous claw. 

 

“Ah” Jongdae says getting scared “Didn’t think this through...”

 

“Jongdae!” Minseok yells “Drop it and run!”

 

Jongdae follows Minseok’s advice throwing the wires far away and diving for cover behind the crumbled wall. The robot loses sight of the wires and turns back toward where Jongin and Kyungsoo were, of course now they left to find a different hiding spot. 

 

“Great now what!” Chanyeol yells. He’d really prefer a plan that wasn’t just 'shoot the stupid thing for hours till it falls over'. 

 

“I’m going to run out a look for something to help us!” Jongdae yells before sprinting out of the room to not get hit by the robot's powers. Luckily the gate closes behind him before the fireball reaches him. 

 

“His plans are shit though!” Sehun yells out. 

 

~=+•+=~

 

“What do you think the others are doing?” Luhan says eating his ravioli, it’s not the best but since when is food from a museum going to be delicious.

 

“Probably singing or poking around random rooms.” Yixing shrugs taking a sip of grape juice. 

 

“Should we try contacting them?” Luhan asks the group “Yixing do you still have your earpiece?”

 

“No, I somehow lost it on the way here. Must have fallen out of my pocket.” Yixing says before taking a bite of his hamburger “None of you have yours?”

 

“Nope, we all ditched them in the trash after the guard found us” Kris explains “We didn’t want him finding it somehow because then he’d know we had other help.”

 

“Oh that’s smart I kind of took a risk keeping it I guess” Yixing says “At least I was able to tell Baekhyun about where we were.”

 

“Baekhyun!” Tao says excited “That’s it! Let’s just go to the car, he has an earpiece!”

 

“Yes let’s do that!” Kris agrees “But can I finish this first? This sandwich is surprisingly good.”

 

“It would be suspicious if we left without finishing the meal we demanded so” Luhan smiles taking another bite of his ravioli “Let’s eat and then go.”

 

They all nod in agreement before going back to eating their free food. Food always tastes better when it’s free. 

 

~=+•+=~

 

“Every time we hit it and cause damage it just adapts!” Jongin yells “Baekhyun! Any ideas?” 

 

“Punch it!” Baekhyun smiles alone in his car where no one can see it anyways.

 

“He’s useless.” Junmyeon grumbles. 

 

“Fine” Baekhyun sighs over the intercom “I’ll come in and save your sorry asses.”

 

“How? The basement is password protected!” Minseok asks. 

 

“Kyungsoo knows the password” Baekhyun states “Don’t you, Soo?”

 

“It’s 170528170603” Kyungsoo says slowly so Baekhyun can write it down. “Don’t call me Soo.”

 

“How the hell do you know that!” Minseok yells while taking another useless shot at the robot. 

 

“He has a habit of watching me enter my phone password in” Baekhyun explains  “He’s like a kleptomaniac but for passwords.”

 

“I’d never use it!” Kyungsoo defends “Plus this time we needed it!”

 

“Alright, I’m on my way!” Baekhyun says before grabbing his gun from the seat beside him and jumping out of the car. 

 

“Guys I’m back” Jongdae yells while holding a large piece of metal as a shield “You know how it’s unfinished? I found one of its parts!”

 

“No offence Jongdae but who cares?” Junmyeon yells back at him before dodging a fireball.

 

“I have a plan!” Jongdae says running at the robot “Shoot me you dumb hunk of metal!”

 

“Jongdae no!” Minseok says sprinting towards his apparently suicidal friend. He knocks him out of the way before he can get hit by the bolt of lightning. “What are you doing?”

 

“Why don’t you guys trust me!” Jongdae whines before running behind a crumbled concrete wall. 

 

“You’re last plan almost killed you!” Minseok yells, for once not to be heard but just out of anger. 

 

“Fine whatever just keep shooting at it then.” Jongdae says before sneaking away to continue his plan in secret. 

 

Jongdae plugs the big wire into the piece of metal he found. He’s not sure what it does but it seems to need charging. Once he plugs it in he sees a little battery light comes on. Hopefully, this doesn’t take forever to charge. 

 

“Guys!” Junmyeon yells “New plan! Everyone comes to me and we can all shoot him at the exact same time in the same spot!”

 

Everyone agrees since any idea is a good one at this point. It takes some time for them to run over to Junmyeon without getting targeted by fireballs and lightning.

 

“Ok now everyone get ready” Junmyeon instructs the group “On the count of 3 we all get up and shoot at its eye. Ready? 3, 2, 1”

 

They all stand up and look over the concrete wall before firing directly at the camera looking eye of the robot. It stops trying to attack them and instead it’s the one on the defensive. It brings it’s claw arm up to the camera trying to shield itself from the laser shots. 

 

“It’s working!” Chanyeol yells happily “Without the camera, it won’t be able to attack us!”

 

Suddenly they hear an awful alarm go off causing them all to drop their guns and clutch their ears. It’s so loud there’s no way people on the main floor aren’t hearing it. 

 

“You had to jinx it didn’t you!” Sehun yells. “It’s always Chanyeol’s fault!”

 

“Don’t blame me!” Chanyeol yells angrily over the terrible alarm sound “What about Jongdae? He isn’t even here!”

 

“Wait, what?” Junmyeon asks before looking around, Chanyeol is right Jongdae is missing “Where is he!”

 

The alarm finally ends and they start hearing another sound coming from the robot. It sounds almost like a plane propeller. They look over the crumbled wall and see it’s claw powering up with some sort of energy ball. It can absorb energy so... maybe that’s everything they shot at it. 

 

“Run!” Junmyeon yells “We have to get out of here before it-”

 

Junmyeon gets cut off when the robot shoots its energy ball directly at them, but they don’t get vaporized. 

 

“‘Jongdae’s plans are shit’” Jongdae scoffs holding his metal shield thing “Suck it Sehun”

 

Jongdae points his shield at the robot before hitting a button on the top. A massive beam of energy comes out and hits the robot. It explodes sending metal and electronics flying. They all take cover and luckily no one is hurt or burnt. 

 

“What did I miss?” Baekhyun asks after walking through the gate trying to twirl his gun in his hand but failing “Woah! What’s that thing?”

 

“It’s a deadly robot” Jongdae smiles “And I blew it up.”

 

“How exactly?” Chanyeol asks coming out from behind the crumbled wall “I’m still confused about that.” 

 

“Well I realized that the robot can absorb energy, so logically this piece could too” Jongdae explains. 

 

“We all knew that since pretty much the start” Kyungsoo scoffs. 

 

“Ok but did you know it could fire that energy back?” Jongdae says annoyed, they should be worshipping him for saving their lives “I examined this and realized I could fire back the energy if it was charged up, there’s even a convenient button to do it.” 

 

“I think that’s just a prototype of their robot haul” Junmyeon comments realizing what Jongdae has “It’s not a piece of the robot.”

 

“Well, whatever who cares point is I saved the day when none of them believed in me” Jongdae says. 

 

“So the orbs are?” Baekhyun asks obnoxious making hand gestures.

 

“Probably in the wreck” Minseok says before walking towards the robot. 

 

“So I’m really not getting any recognition for this?” Jongdae pouts. “Not even a good job?”

 

“Good job Kim” Chanyeol says patting Jongdae’s arm. 

 

“Kim could be any one of us four” Jongdae continues to pout. 

 

“Just take the appreciation and help us find these orbs!” Baekhyun yells from the wreck. 

 

Jongdae begrudgingly walks over to the wreck to help them look. Everything is still a little hot so they are careful. With 8 people finding the orbs doesn’t take too long. They are smooth glass baseball-sized orbs, each is a different colour. 

 

“And 11” Jongdae says picking up a pink orb. “We got them all!”

 

“How do we get our powers out?” Chanyeol says holding a green orb.

 

“Let’s worry about that later, for now, let’s just safely leave this place” Junmyeon says walking towards the gate.

“What about Kris, Luhan, Tao and Yixing?” Jongdae asks. “They won’t respond on the intercom!” 

 

“Ok Jongdae, Chanyeol, Baekhyun and I will go upstairs and get them” Junmyeon decides “The rest just leave and go to the car.”

 

Junmyeon, Jongdae, Chanyeol and Baekhyun give the orbs they are holding to the others so they don’t lose them on the way there or somehow get them confiscated. They all run out of the room and through the gate into the hall. Once in the hall, they turn left towards the elevator whereas the others turn right towards the exit to the outside. 

 

“Where do you think they are?” Jongdae asks after they hit the elevator button. 

 

“They are probably still being questioned by the guards so...” Baekhyun says thinking “I’m guessing near the offices?”

 

“Where’s that?” Chanyeol asks looking down at Baekhyun.

 

“I can show us once we get there” Baekhyun responds “I stared at that map for a while. Being Mission Control wasn’t as fun as I made it seem.”

 

They wait as the elevator finally comes down to their floor. The doors open and instead of an empty elevator, they are greeted by a man in a suit and 5 security guards. 

 

“Hi sir” Junmyeon bows trying to find a way to sneak past this man “Coming to check on our work?”

 

“Don’t bother” The man sighs walking out of the elevator with the guards “I know who you are. It’s about time we get acquainted.”

 

The guards walks passed the man and immediately restrain all four of the boys. They don’t have time to react before they are already being cuffed and the guards take their guns away. 

 

“I’m Lee Jaekyung, the owner of this museum and the CEO of Rouge. You have all been really bad, we know about you blowing up our nurses and breaking into our old office.” He says tsking before turning his head to the guards “Throw them in the cells. Oh and go grab their little friends outside, don’t want them getting lonely in there.”

 

“Yes sir”


	25. Sweet Lies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's some pretty cheesy stuff in this but it was required so uhhh sorry about that! Also, I'm finally almost done writing the whole thing. I just want it to end properly so it's taking me a while to figure out how to do it right.

_7th of September 2018, Royal Old Museum (ROM), South Korea_

 

“Tao get the hell out of here now, leave us!” Junmyeon yells into the intercom before being cut off. 

 

“Woah” Luhan says shocked “Do you think they’re ok?”

 

“No they aren’t” Tao responds before turning the SUV on while seeing some security guards come out the front door. If they leave now they won’t catch their plates. At least the guards don’t seem to know they parked in the strip mall parking lot. Tao opens the door. “Everyone get in this car now! We’re following his order. Strap in.”

 

“What?” Kris asks from the middle row “You can’t be serious we can’t leave them!”

 

“We can and we are” Tao says waiting for Minseok to get into a seat before starting to drive and turning onto the main road “Are the guards following us?”

 

“No they’re looking around the parking lot” Kyungsoo says from the last row. 

 

“How can you leave them!” Kris says getting mad. “Don’t you care about them?”

 

“Trust me, Kris, the last thing I want to do is leave those four in there” Tao says feeling the pain settle in “But above all I trust Junmyeon and we are unprepared to fight for them. It might feel like we’re superheroes or something but without our powers, we are literally just a bunch of university students and one government agent with guns we aren’t properly trained for.”

 

“What should we do then?” Jongin asks feeling really scared, he holds onto Kyungsoo for comfort.

 

“I don’t know” Tao sighs “Motel?”

 

“But we’re going back for them right?” Luhan asks.

 

“I don’t know!” Tao yells “Can we all just stop! I’m freaking out too ok? But I need to drive, so please!”

 

“Sorry Tao” Luhan apologizes. 

 

“It’s ok...” Tao says calming down “Someone put a motel into the GPS we can think when we get there. For now, just listen to the radio.”

 

~=+•+=~

 

_7th of September 2018, Royal Old Museum (ROM), South Korea_

 

“Do you think Tao heard me?” Junmyeon says pacing in his cell he shares with Jongdae.

 

“Based on the fact we’re still here alone?” Jongdae asks rhetorically “I’d say he’s safe, they’re all safe.”

 

“What if they are torturing them?” Junmyeon says still pacing uncontrollably. 

 

“Junmyeon” Jongdae says getting off his bed and placing a hand on Junmyeon “They got out, there’s no way Tao didn’t hear you. Why would they torture them anyways? They don’t have any information the Red Force wants.”

 

“I hope you’re right” Junmyeon sighs his body untensing slightly. 

 

“He is!” Chanyeol yells from the cell beside them. “Plus they have the orbs! They’ll get their powers back and come rescue us!”

 

“What do we do though?” Baekhyun says pressing his face up against the bars hoping to see Junmyeon. 

 

“For now?” Junmyeon says “Sleep. We can deal with plans in the morning. They might rescue us but we can’t count on it.”

 

“Nice to have calm collected leader Junmyeon back” Jongdae smiles. 

 

“Yeah” Junmyeon sighs thinking about Tao again, everyone else too, _of course_. “It’s late let’s just sleep on these prison mattresses.” 

 

“I call bottom bunk!” Jongdae yells jumping in bed.

 

~=+•+=~

 

_7th of September 2018, Kim’s Motel, South Korea_

 

“We don’t have a plan or change of clothes but at least we have money, a place for the night and the orbs” Kris says to the group who are currently all in his and Tao’s room. 

 

“Any idea how to get our powers out of the orbs?” Kyungsoo asks. 

 

“Nope” Kris says lightly “Not even sure which one is for which person. Like what colour is teleportation or time travel? I’d guess brown for earth powers but Luhan says the brown one is his.”

 

“It definitely is” Luhan says holding his orb. “Maybe you guys can figure out which one is yours by holding it. I felt a connection with mine, more than just the pull I felt before.”

 

“I guess it’s worth a try” Kris nods “Let’s play pass the orb.”

 

They end up sitting in a sort of circle formation, the best they can in the motel room and pass the orbs from person to person so that everyone will get to hold every single orb. 

 

“I feel it!” Minseok smiles holding the cyan orb “This is mine!” 

 

“Well good this plan will work!” Jongin says happily “What should we do with Junmyeon, Chanyeol and Jongdae’s orbs?”

 

“Keep them safe” Kris says. 

 

They keep passing the orbs until everyone has found their orb. The three left over are blue, red and yellow. 

 

“I know they don’t seem to be colour coded, I mean how is the power of earth purple” Yixing says looking at the other orbs “but I bet blue is Junmyeon, red is Chanyeol and Yellow is Jongdae.”

 

“We’ll find out when we get them back” Kris says firmly. 

 

“So it’s cool and all we have these orbs but how do we get our power out of them?” Sehun asks. 

 

“I was hoping holding them would work but that’s clearly not the case” Kris sighs “Tao could you hack the Red Force database for information?”

 

“I don’t have a computer but I could buy a laptop tomorrow” Tao shrugs, hacking has been really annoying for him but he’s willing to do it to get their powers back. 

 

“Ok” Kris nods “I think that’s all we can do for tonight”

 

“Goodnight guys” Minseok says getting up to go to his own room. 

 

“Oh and Kyungsoo and Jongin” Kris starts getting their attention as they walk out “Don’t do anything... the walls are thin.”

 

“Hyung!” Jongin yells scandalized. Why does everyone always pick on him?

 

~=+•+=~

 

_8th of September 2018, Royal Old Museum (ROM), South Korea_

 

B _aekhyun is flying high in the sky. He flies right through the clouds which feel so soft as they hit his face. Almost like giant cotton balls. Baekhyun looks down and sees an infinite calm ocean. It sparkles in the sunlight and he’s never seen anything more beautiful. Suddenly he starts falling down towards it. Normally he would feel scared but he likes the feeling of falling plus the water looks so nice and warm. He crashes down into the ocean. He doesn’t even bother swimming in it, he just lets himself float in the warm water._

 

_He floats calmly in the water for a while before he hears something. He can’t figure out what it is but it doesn’t sound like waves. He feels something grab his ankle and start pulling him under the water. He looks under the water for what’s holding him but he just sees darkness. He kicks his legs violently so it will let go. When he’s finally free he sees it’s some sort of sea creature, a merman. He swims deeper and notices a fishing net caught around his tail. He tries to untangle the net but it’s hard because it’s weighted. Finally, the merman is free of the net and Baekhyun goes up to breathe._

 

_The merman follows him to the surface and he notices the merman’s red hair. It’s just like Ariel._

 

 _“Thank you for freeing me” The merman says in a very familiar voice “That was really_ heavy _”_

 

Baekhyun finally realizes the merman is Chanyeol but by then he’s already been startled out of his dream.  

 

“Dammit!” Baekhyun yells “It was just getting good!” 

 

“Baekhyun?” Chanyeol asks as he suddenly stops humming from the bottom bunk of the bed “Why aren’t you asleep, it’s like 3 am.”

 

“I was sleeping, till someone woke me up” Baekhyun grumbles before jumping down from the top bunk “How do you know what time it is?”

 

“There’s a clock right over there,” Chanyeol says sitting up in his bed pointing to the clock outside their cell. 

 

“Oh” Baekhyun says dumbly before thinking of something to say “Why weren’t you sleeping?”

 

“I can’t calm my thoughts” Chanyeol sighs “I gave up trying.”

 

“Well, I don’t feel like going back to sleep...” Baekhyun smirks, since they’re alone he might as well use this time to finally get Chanyeol to admit he likes him. He’s tired of waiting and Chanyeol can’t run away out of awkwardness, it’s perfect. “I have a plan for escaping this place.”

 

“You do?” Chanyeol says intrigued. 

 

“Yup” Baekhyun says before getting very very close to Chanyeol’s face, sitting right next to him on the bed.

 

“W-what are you doing?” Chanyeol asks getting nervous with how close Baekhyun is, he’s really tired and having a bit of a hard time hiding his reactions.  

 

“Don’t want them hearing it do we?” Baekhyun smiles before leaning close to Chanyeol’s ear so he can whisper into it “I know you like me.”

 

“What?” Chanyeol laughs nervously, please let this just be a torturous dream. Time to wake up! “N-no I don’t”

 

“Oh?” Baekhyun teases “So you’re stuttering just for fun?”

 

“Yes?” Chanyeol says trying to think of an excuse and failing terribly “I’m just uh cold? The blanket is thin...”

 

“Well then we could just sleep together” Baekhyun smiles “That will keep you warm, won’t it?”

 

“Uh” Chanyeol clears his throat “Baekhyun why are you doing this?”

 

“Doing what?” Baekhyun asks before stroking the side of Chanyeol’s face with the back of his hand “Flirting with you?”

 

“Yeah” Chanyeol swallows. 

 

“I never said I didn’t like you back” Baekhyun says seriously. 

 

“What?” Chanyeol says feeling his entire world flip “Since when?”

 

“Remember when we tried out for track and field but I forgot to wear socks so the back of my heel got all bloody and you had to carry me to the nurse?” Baekhyun asks. 

 

“Baekhyun that was like 4 years ago, you’ve had multiple relationships since then” Chanyeol says still a little confused. 

 

“Yeah... there was a reason they didn’t really work out...” Baekhyun sighs. 

 

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Chanyeol asks sincerely, has Baekhyun had this crush for that long?  


“I don’t know, I figured I’d get over it” Baekhyun shrugs “I didn’t really think about acting on it.”

 

“And now?” 

 

“I got tired of waiting to get over it” Baekhyun says looking directly into Chanyeol’s eyes “I don’t want to get over it.”

 

“So what do you want?” Chanyeol asks even though he knows the answer, he just wants to hear Baekhyun confirm it.

 

“I want you Chanyeol” Baekhyun says grabbing Chanyeol’s hand “I was hoping you would make the first move if I kept teasing you but I ended up the one confessing.”

 

“You could have confessed way earlier and saved me so many awkward interactions” Chanyeol smiles remembering it “That time after I thought you kissed Sehun, I almost lost my mind I ran out so quickly.”

 

“If you had just kissed me like you were supposed to, you could have avoided that yourself” Baekhyun smirks.

 

“I almost did” Chanyeol whispers “I would have if I knew you thought of me like that.”

 

“So what’s stopping you now?” Baekhyun looks at him. 

 

“We’re in a prison cell” Chanyeol says looking around them. 

 

“Ok fine not the most romantic place” Baekhyun agrees “but when we get out of here, can I take you on a date?”

 

“I’d love it” Chanyeol says before quickly leaning in and kissing Baekhyun lightly on the lips. 

 

“Mr.‘We’re in a prison cell’” Baekhyun says sarcastically smiling widely “Why’d you do that?”

 

“I couldn’t help myself” Chanyeol smiles “You looked too cute.”

 

“Well, I can’t disagree with that logic” Baekhyun smiles fondly before getting off Chanyeol’s bed to climb up to his own. 

 

“Wait!” Chanyeol calls “Were you serious about cuddling to sleep because I could really use it.”

 

“I never said cuddling” Baekhyun smiles walking back to Chanyeol’s bed “But of course we can.”

 

“Thank you Baekhyunnie.” Chanyeol says before scooching to the right side of the bed to leave room for Baekhyun.

 

“I was serious about an escape plan too” Baekhyun says getting into the bed “I’ll tell you, Junmyeon and Jongdae in the morning. Let’s get some sleep.”

 

“Goodnight Baekhyun” Chanyeol says holding onto his friend. 

 

“Goodnight” 

 

~=+•+=~

 

_8th of September 2018, Kim’s Motel, South Korea_

 

After getting the laptop and paying for wifi access, Tao can finally hack the Red Force and get more of their information. It isn’t too hard since he did most of the work before but it does take some time. 

 

“Getting anywhere with it?” Kris asks “Should I grab Kyungsoo to help?” 

 

“Nah” Tao says “He’s on a date with Jongin, plus I only bought one laptop anyway.”

 

“Ah young love” Kris says. 

 

“You act like you’re old” Tao smiles “You’re only a few years older than them.”

 

“I guess I just went through that phase a while ago” Kris explains. 

 

“Funny I didn’t take you for a player” Tao laughs while still focusing on his task “Ladies really into nursing students?”

 

“I mostly dated in high school but yes girls do like male nurses” Kris smiles “Don’t know why and don’t care. As long as they like me, I’m happy.”

 

“I think I found something” Tao says scanning his screen “It’s in English, don’t know why they write stuff in English but... ok yeah it is about the orbs.”

 

“It requires a solar eclipse to free the powers of the orbs?” Kris says reading the page “How does that even make sense?”

 

“I mean we don’t understand how our powers work either...” Tao says reading more of the page “The Red Force really seems to though.”

 

“See if you can find another file on the orbs, I don’t think we’re due for a solar eclipse any time soon” Kris states “There has to be another way.”

 

“I’ll try” Tao says opening some more files “ _Personnel file..._ we could really use this. We need to arrest every single member of the Red Force.”

 

“So this is everyone we need to stop?” Kris says looking at the names in the file “There are only 23 members, that can’t be right can it?”

 

“Based on some of the other stuff I’ve read and what we’ve experienced” Tao starts “Their leader used to have time powers, that’s how they got those drones and other tech but that leader passed away. I think with all the robots they use, it’s possible they only have 23 members. Easier for us I guess.”

 

“What about the museum staff? There were more than 23.” Kris points out.

 

“But they only work for Rouge Corp.” Tao explains “They aren’t part of the Red Force, they probably don’t even know what was going on in that basement. To them, they only work at a private museum.”

 

“I see” Kris nods “So do we have a plan arresting these 23 members?” 

 

“We’ll have to collect some more evidence...” Tao says still searching the database “If we get more info, the police can build a case against them. The only issue is they might run away.”

 

“We can stop them” Kris smiles “We’re close.”

 

~=+•+=~

 

_8th of September 2018, Royal Old Museum (ROM), South Korea_

 

“Mr Lee will see you now” a security guard says “We will escort you to his office.”

 

“Who says we want to see him?” Jongdae says like a spoiled child. 

 

The guard pulls out his gun from his belt to make the point. 

 

“Ok yes, our schedules are clear” Jongdae says before backing up “Right guys?”

 

They allow the guards to cuff them again before walking into the elevator. Apparently mister hot shot’s office is on the third floor. They walk into the very nice office. It’s huge with a large crescent desk and a giant window. Their laser guns are sitting on the desk right in front of Lee Jaekyung. His evil-looking features are even more prominent when he isn’t smiling. He has high and sharp cheekbones but hollow cheeks as well as intense eyebrows giving him a very intimidating look. 

 

“Have a seat” Jaekyung says gesturing towards four chairs in front of his desk. “I have some things I need to tell you.” 

 

“Why would we want to listen to you?” Junmyeon says taking a seat regardless.

 

“You probably don’t” Jaekyung nods “but I don’t really care.”

 

“Let’s just get this over with” Baekhyun sighs. 

 

“Well I know you all know about the Red Force” he starts “but do you even know why you’re fighting against us?”

 

“Other than poisoning us, trapping us in a maze-” Baekhyun starts before being interrupted.

 

“We can’t tell you” Chanyeol says firmly, they can’t share details about the future. “We have more than enough reasons to stop you.”

 

“I’m guessing your little time traveller told you about the future?” Jaekyung says sitting back in his chair “Did he tell you why?”

 

They all stay silent, Tao never mentioned why but it hardly matters. There’s no excuse for killing that many people. 

 

“The human race is flawed.” Jaekyung explains “So many people die from genetic issues or accidents. The Red Force wants to end that, so everyone who is born is born equal.”

 

“How does killing millions do that?” Junmyeon asks angrily. 

 

“I’m getting there, don’t interrupt me” Jaekyung says very seriously “We believe that genetic selection and performance-enhancing drugs could be used to ensure that only the strongest of humans are born. We should be bettering the species so every generation can be stronger, smarter, more resistant to disease etc. It’s the best way to assure the future generations can live good lives. No one will have to suffer because a member of their family has a terrible genetic disorder. People will survive more car accidents. It will be a better world.”

 

“And you blew up a continent because?” Baekhyun says not at all moved by his speech.   

 

“It was required” Jaekyung responds “People were dying just giving birth, their child’s heads were too big. It was a regular thing for people to grow up with only one parent. It was terrible. Anyone who disagrees has to be eliminated, it’s for a better world. As long as people fight against our cause we can never see the world we dream of. You have to see the big picture.”

 

“You’re insane” Baekhyun responds “You want a world with less pain, suffering and death, so you kill people. How does that make any sense.”

 

“So you won’t join the Red Force? What a pity...” Jaekyung says standing up “I knew you were all a lost cause but I had to try, you know for PR reasons. Can’t have anyone thinking I did this without a good reason. Might lose my leadership position.”

 

“What are you doing?” Chanyeol asks getting concerned. 

 

“Me?” Jaekyung says walking towards the door opening it to reveal a guard “Nothing! Wonhae here though...”

 

The guard, Wonhae, raises his gun up and points it directly at Baekhyun. 

 

“After this, we can find the others, surely they’ve gone back to their little home by now” Jaekyung smiles evilly “Last chance to change your mind.”

 

“I like Jazz!” Baekhyun yells before firing off the brightest light he’s ever created at the two men. The other boys had their eyes tightly shut to avoid eye damage. 

 

Jaekyung and the guard immediately fall to the ground screaming in pain. They don’t seem like they’ll be able to get up any time soon. 

 

“I told you that phrase wouldn’t come up naturally!” Chanyeol yells before walking towards the guard to grab the keys to the handcuffs, it’s a bit of a struggle since he still has his cuffs on. 

 

“Who cares it worked!” Baekhyun whines with Chanyeol unchains him “None of you were hurt so it was a success even if it didn’t go as planned.”

 

“Baekhyun you’d didn’t just blind them” Junmyeon remarks after being freed “I think you gave them pretty intense burns. They’ll need hospital treatment.”

 

“Great well that’s two down” Jongdae says before grabbing their guns back from the desk. “Let’s get out of here before they get up.”

 

“Y-you’ll r-regret th-this!” Jaekyung yells through the pain.

 

“Shut it!” Baekhyun yells “No one wants to hear you!”

 

Stupidly the only guard Jaekyung had in front of his office was Wonhae. He seriously underestimated them. The boys rush towards the elevator, the museum isn’t open so it’s just the Red Force staff. Not wanting to take any chances, they shoot every staff member they find on the stun setting. Getting out of the museum is easy enough. 

 

After they get out of the museum they rush into a nearby mall. Junmyeon finds an abandoned large paper shopping bag and hides their guns in it before entering the mall. They buy some hats and sweaters to disguise themselves in case anyone from the Red Force tries to chase after them. 

 

“Do you think this is good enough?” Chanyeol asks putting on his hat to hide his hair. 

 

“Let’s get face masks too” Junmyeon says before bringing 4 masks to the checkout counter and paying for them.

 

“Is that all for today sir?” The check out lady asks him. 

 

“Could I use the store phone, mine ran out of battery” Junmyeon half-lies, the truth is they only found Baekhyun's and Chanyeol's both of which are dead so it's not that much of a lie. At least they found one of their wallets. 

 

“I’m sorry it’s not for public use” she responds still smiling “You could ask customer service.”

 

“Great thank you” Junmyeon replies before bringing the masks back to the group. 

 

They all quickly make their way to customer service, they desperately want to get in contact with the rest of their group. Once they make it there they have to wait in what feels like the longest line ever. Finally, they approach the counter. 

 

“Could we use the phone?” Junmyeon asks politely. 

 

“Of course!” the woman replies handing him the telephone “What’s the number?”

 

“Oh...” Junmyeon pauses and tries to think of the number “It’s uhhh”

 

“You don’t know your boyfriend’s cell number?” Baekhyun criticizes “I know Chanyeol’s by heart!” 

 

“How is that related?” Jongdae asks confused “And Tao’s number is 038-4711-8214”

 

“Ok” The lady replies entering the number “It should work.”

 

“Hello?” Tao answers.

 

“Tao?” Junmyeon asks “Thank god, this is Junmyeon, we’re at Sunny Side Mall, please come pick us up.”

 

“On it” Tao says quickly “Which entrance?”

 

“Uhhh the one by Nature Republic” Junmyeon answers remembering seeing that store when they walked in the mall. 

 

“Ok see you in about 25 minutes.”

 

“Great” Junmyeon sighs before handing the phone back to the lady “Thank you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was assured the number in the fic was not real but please don't call it anyways.


	26. Relax and Chillin'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm obsessed with Baekhyun's album, hence the chapter title. Also, again, I'm super sorry for the delayed posting. I'm currently writing the very last chapter and I'm kinda sad, I'm gonna miss writing this. I've had so much fun!

_8th of September 2018,_ _Sunny Side Mall_ _, South Korea_

 

The boys wait patiently in front of Nature Republic, they’ve been waiting for 20 minutes so Tao should be on his way soon. 

 

“Do you think he’ll recognize us?” Chanyeol asks “With our masks and everything?”

 

“Considering there’s no other group of 4 guys standing outside this store?” Jongdae says sarcastically “I think he’ll do just fine.”

 

“We’ve been waiting forever” Baekhyun whines while wiggling like a child “Chanyeol you better take me on a damn good date after this.”

 

“What?” Chanyeol says looking down at Baekhyun “You said _you_ were taking _me_ out.”

 

“I take it back” Baekhyun whines again. 

 

“Date?” Jongdae repeats having his interest peaked “You’re dating Baekhyun? Why does no one tell me anything!”

 

“Maybe because no one trusts you to keep a secret” Junmyeon proposes it. 

 

“He has a point” Chanyeol nods.

 

“I hate you all, next time I get a date I won’t tell any of you!” Jongdae whines.

 

“Is that meant to be a threat?” Baekhyun asks laughing. 

 

“Whatever” Jongdae pouts. 

 

“Hate to interrupt whatever Jongdae is mad about but do you guys want to get in?” Kris asks after pulling up in the SUV and rolling down the window.

 

“Oh thank God” Junmyeon says opening the front door of the SUV “Where’s Tao?”

 

“He’s still working so he sent me” Kris responds before looking back to see if everyone is strapped in, he feels like such a dad. “Our motel isn’t too far from here so you’ll see him soon enough.”

 

As Kris said, the ride back is very short, 10 minutes max. They get to the check-in desk and ask for 2 more double rooms. 

 

“Well there’s not a whole lot to do here” Kris says after paying for the rooms “Tao’s the only one with an internet connection but I heard there’s a PC room down the street.”

 

“That’s fine we have LTE” Baekhyun says holding up his cellphone “Plus we should update you and Tao on what we learned.”

 

“I thought you guys just escaped from the museum” Kris says walking leading them to Tao. 

 

“Yes but before that, we had a very disturbing conversation with a Lee Jaekyung” Chanyeol explains “I don’t think he had any intention of letting us get out alive...”

 

“He clearly didn’t know who he was messing with” Baekhyun smirks. 

 

“Yeah there’s no way they knew Baekhyun still had his power” Junmyeon agrees stepping into the room “I guess it’s a good thing they don’t what we look like, just all our life stories... weird.”

 

“I have an explanation for that actually” Tao says getting up from his computer “I have _a lot_ of information.”

 

“Taozi!” Junmyeon says going to hug his boyfriend “I missed you!”

 

“It hasn’t even been two days!” Baekhyun sighs.

 

“Shut it Byun” Tao says still hugging Junmyeon “I missed you too Myeonnie”

 

“I hate to break this up” Jongdae says smiling “But could we actually talk about the Red Force.”

 

“Oh right” Tao says pulling away from Junmyeon “Well, the Red Force runs a company called Rouge, most of their activities are hidden by that.”

 

“I can’t believe the Red Force is working under the company name Rouge” Junmyeon scoffs interrupting Tao “It’s so completely obvious.”

 

“And for all of us who don’t know what rouge means?” Jongdae says.

 

“It’s red in french” Junmyeon explains.

 

“What else did you learn?” Chanyeol asks Tao. 

 

“Through that company, they have been basically stealing government funds. I knew they were getting money from the government but I thought it was legal. Turns out they have 4 members working at high ranked jobs in the Ministry of Economy and Finance of Korea.”

 

“Corrupt politicians” Baekhyun nods “Of course they’d be part of this psycho group. Do we know who the other members are?”

 

“I have all 23 by name” Tao nods his head “I have many _many_ incriminating documents, don’t worry about them they will not be leaving jail anytime soon.”

 

“23?” Chanyeol asks “Are you sure that’s it? Do you know a Wonhae?”

 

“Chief of Security at the Red Force?” Tao smiles “I have _a lot_ on him particularly.”

 

“And the CEO?” Jongdae asks. 

 

“He’s one of the most interesting members” Tao explains “First of all, he has a power... the power of imagination.”

 

“He has what?” Junmyeon asks confused. 

 

“It sounds dumb but basically he can make you see things through your own imagination” Tao explains “It’s actually terrifying, it’s what he did when we were in the maze, except he usually needs some help since it’s hard to do with fully conscious people. We were actually drugged when we were locked in that office before going into the basement.”

 

“I told you the air smelled weird!” Baekhyun yells “No one ever believes me.”

 

“How did we not know this sooner?” Chanyeol asks exasperated, months of research but they find all the important information this week. 

 

“It’s not like the title of the file is named ‘evil plans.docx’” Tao sighs “You have no idea how many files were just shipment and finance records.”

 

“Sounds boring” Kris adds.

 

“That’s basically it though” Tao concludes “We have more than enough evidence to convict them for life. Embezzling government funds, torture, unethical experiments, organ theft and treason. There’s more but it’s mostly political. The best part is our names aren’t actually in it so after I send this to the police we won’t need to be questioned about it. It can be done completely anonymously and not affect us at all.”

 

“So that’s it?” Chanyeol asks “We just submit files anonymously and this all ends? That’s so anticlimactic...”

 

“I’m sorry this wasn’t the ending you wanted” Tao says sarcastically “Would you rather it ends messy with one of us dead? Would that be more entertaining?”

 

“No, I just...” Chanyeol says before shaking his head “Nevermind, you’re right this is better.”

 

“We could probably submit those files soon” Junmyeon says “The CEO and chief of staff are very likely hospitalized.”

 

“What did you guys do?” Kris asks a little surprised. 

 

“I may have made them blind” Baekhyun smirks “And given them the worst sunburn of their lives.”

 

“Yikes well, at least they won’t be going anywhere.” Tao remarks “We should head home after dinner. I’m glad we’re done with these stupid motel beds.”

 

“Um actually we can’t do that Taozi” Junmyeon says grabbing Tao’s arm “The Red Force knows where we live and I’m pretty sure they are sending people to the house since they think that’s where you are. Not to mention Jaekyung wasn’t exactly happy with us when we left...”

 

“Great” Tao sighs “We’ll have to wait till the police process the information and arrests them then...”

 

“It won’t be all bad” Junmyeon smirks “You’ll enjoy this bed better if I’m in it with you, won’t you?”

 

“GROSS” Baekhyun screams running out the room. 

 

“Ok, I’m taking my stuff out” Kris says putting some stuff they bought at a lotte store in a bag “You two can share this room.”

 

“Wait, if Kris is switching rooms with Junmyeon then I want to switch with whoever is Minseok’s roommate!” Jongdae exclaims.

 

“It’s Yixing, room 7” Kris explains “I’ll take you there.”

 

“Wait so are we just going to chill here?” Chanyeol says confused “What about our powers? Can we have those back I miss my fire.”

 

“Oh yeah about that” Tao says dropping his smile “We’ll only get them back during a solar eclipse.”

 

“Lovely...” Chanyeol sighs “I’m going to that PC room, I need a few rounds of PUBG.”

 

~=+•+=~

 

“Hyung you still haven’t made me that fried chicken I won” Jongin pouts looking into Kyungsoo’s eyes as they walk together hand in hand. 

 

“You want to end our date with you begging for chicken?” Kyungsoo smiles “We can stop at a chicken place if you want, I have some cash on me.”

 

“I wanted _your_ fried chicken, not some chain thing” Jongin pouts “But I guess that can take a rain check until we get to a real kitchen.”

 

“Great!” Kyungsoo smiles “Let’s get back to the motel then, we’ve been gone for a while.”

 

“No!” Jongin says before stopping “I meant, we get some chicken _and_ you make me some later”

 

“Such a baby” Kyungsoo says booping Jongin’s nose “Ok I guess we can have chicken for dinner. I’ll text the others to let them know.”

 

**Do Kyungsoo: Jongin and I are having dinner so we won’t be back until later.**

 

**Loey 🎸: Ooo what are you eating?**

 

 **'ㅅ'** **: Can we join? Chanyeol’s suppose to take me somewhere fancy (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧**

 

**Juncotton: Don’t be late!**

 

**Do Kyungsoo: We are having chicken, this is a date so no you two can’t come. We will be back at a reasonable hour.**

 

 **'ㅅ'** **: Double date!!!!! Won’t that be cute please soo? 🥺**

 

 **ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ: Sure hyung! We’re going to** **BBQ Chicken Café**

 

“Why did you let them come?” Kyungsoo says looking up from his phone “I thought you wanted to be alone?”

 

“We’ve been alone all day and I loved it!” Jongin smiles “But they just escaped a museum, I think they deserve to eat chicken with us.”

 

“I guess you’re right” Kyungsoo nods his head “I just wouldn’t want them feeling awkward since we’re dating.”

 

“So you plan on flirting with me in front of them?” Jongin smirks. 

 

“N-no” Kyungsoo laughs “I guess I don’t know I thought we’d continue our date...”

 

“You’re cute when you’re flustered” Jongin says before kissing Kyungsoo on the cheek “We’re here! Should we save them a table?”

 

“Sure” Kyungsoo agree still blushing. 

 

They only wait about 15 minutes since the chicken restaurant isn’t too far from the motel. They decide to take a booth, Kyungsoo and Jongin sit together on one side, leaving room for the other two to sit across from them. Baekhyun and Chanyeol walk in and find Kyungsoo and Jongin pretty quickly. 

 

“Did you order yet?” Baekhyun says licking his lips. 

 

“No, we were waiting for you.” Kyungsoo says picking up the menu “They have so many options for fried chicken, this is crazy!”

 

“Yes?” Chanyeol says browsing the menu “It’s a chicken restaurant, did you think they only sold one type of chicken?”

 

“Well I don’t know” Kyungsoo shrugs, in the US he’s never seen this many options “Melon fried chicken? What?”

 

“Hey don’t knock it till you try it!” Baekhyun says “I like the strawberry one best actually, I’m getting that.”

 

“‘Everything comes with chicken radish’ What’s that?” Kyungsoo asks so confused. 

 

“It’s pickled radish, you’ve had it tons of times” Jongin says never once looking away from the menu “I think I’ll have the seasoned chicken.”

 

“Honestly, I did not know chicken was that big of a deal here” Kyungsoo says still overwhelmed by the diverse chicken options. 

 

“Well the more you know” Chanyeol says pretending to outline a rainbow. 

 

Once Kyungsoo finally picks what he wants to eat, they place their order. They talk a lot while they wait for the food and it’s much less awkward than Kyungsoo expected. 

 

“Wrong!” Chanyeol laughs “Otters are by far the cutest animal on the planet!”

 

“Chanyeol you’re delusional, it’s clearly corgis!” Baekhyun defends “They were literally bred to have the cutest butt ever! You’ve met Mongryong! He’s the cutest and you know it! How could a water weasel be cuter than him.”

 

“First of all corgis were bred for herding-” Chanyeol starts. 

 

“Nope” Baekhyun interrupts. “It was for their fluffy butt.”

 

“Chanyeol I have to agree with Baekhyun” Kyungsoo chimes in “Dogs are cuter than otters.”

 

“Jongin back me up!” Chanyeol asks.

 

“I disagree with all of you actually” Jongin says “It’s a bear.”

 

“Jongin that’s insane bears aren’t cute they’re scary!” Kyungsoo says “Teddy bears and bears are not at all the same thing.”

 

“Pandas aren’t mean” Jongin pouts taking his last bite of chicken.

 

“Actually it’s best not to go near pandas either” Chanyeol corrects “They can get scared and attack, they have huge claws and weigh a lot so...”

 

“Chanyeol if you know so much about animals how do you still not know that corgis are the cutest animal?” Baekhyun teases looking directly at Chanyeol. 

 

“I’ll prove it!” Chanyeol exclaims before taking another bite of chicken. 

 

Chanyeol pulls out his phone and has everyone watch pet otter [ videos ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcyYQXTHIV8) where the otters get all cuddly with their humans. The otters sleep in people's beds cuddled up on their arms. Even one where an [ otter ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGTzclrsujA) begs to be pet.

 

“Ok whatever” Baekhyun says a little upset he lost “You win those cuddly little things are the cutest animals ever. Little hands and squeaks... corgis are still cute though...”

 

“I win” Chanyeol says excitedly before finishing his chicken. 

 

“You’re a sore winner like a child” Baekhyun says before cracking a smile “You eat like one too, your face is covered in sauce!”

 

Baekhyun leans over whips Chanyeol’s face with a napkin before kissing him cutely. Kyungsoo and Jongin’s eyes go wide. They were not expecting that at all. Chanyeol and Baekhyun acted so casual about it too...

 

“You just?” Jongin asks, even though it’s not really a question. 

 

“Kissed?” Kyungsoo adds on. 

 

“Well yeah, we’re dating” Baekhyun says seriously “What do you think I meant by double date?”

 

“I don’t know?” Kyungsoo says still a bit confused, this all happened so quickly “I thought it was a joke?”

 

“I didn’t know either” Jongin says equally confused. 

 

“Well Kyungsoo knew I liked Baekhyun so I thought you might have figured that out” Chanyeol says rubbing his neck awkwardly “Turns out he likes me back.”

 

“I’m happy for you two but...” Kyungsoo starts “When did this happen?”

 

“Three am this morning” Chanyeol says.

 

“In our prison cell” Baekhyun adds “Good thing we were put together.”

 

“How long have you liked Chanyeol?” Kyungsoo asks Baekhyun. 

 

“Uh” Baekhyun clears his throat trying to find a way that this doesn’t make him seem lame “Years.”

 

“Wow” Jongin says surprised “Well I mean I’m glad you guys finally confessed.”

 

“I mean my original plan was to drive Chanyeol insane until he caved and confessed or something but” Baekhyun says before turning to Chanyeol “I’m happy with how it played out.”

 

“Yeah I didn’t like that plan” Chanyeol laughs thinking back at everything Baekhyun did “If he continued I don’t know what I would have done.”

 

“It was a genius plan” Baekhyun says smugly “Even Sehun thought so.”

 

“Why am I sure you’re lying” Kyungsoo says finishing his chicken. “Anyway, I’m done eating and I told Junmyeon we’d be back at a decent hour so we should pay now.”

 

“Boring” Baekhyun pouts “But I guess this was a kinda fun first date. Chanyeol and I can always have more fun in our motel room.”

 

Jongin spits out his water. 

 

~=+•+=~

 

 _10th of September 2018,_ _Charmant Motel_ _, South Korea_

 

Tao called a meeting in the little breakfast nook/sitting room the motel has. They take up almost all the seats except some taken up by a couple that was clearly just here for the night. The atmosphere is a little awkward until the couple decides to ditch the free breakfast and just leave. 

 

“Well I officially submitted everything to the police” Tao sighs closing his laptop “All of this is coming to an end. We’ll be able to go home soonish.”

 

“How long do you think it will take?” Luhan asks. 

 

“Couple of weeks?” Tao says “Depends how seriously they take it and how fast the arrest warrants go through.”

 

“After this, we just go home?” Yixing asks. 

 

“Well with what the government gave me I probably put down payments on a few houses probably at least 6 with the money I get for selling the mansion. I have a medical degree for Yixing but he’ll still need to pass a few tests for a Korean licence since he should learn the up to date medical practices... I think that’s all I have planned out.”

 

“Baekhyun and I have missed the first week of uni but we can catch up” Chanyeol adds “But what about the Jongin, Kyungsoo and Junmyeon?”

 

“Right” Tao says “I got them transfer papers so they can start where they left off next semester in a few different universities, up to them to pick one. I have a possibility for Jongin and Kyungsoo to go back to America to study. Or I could send them back to their times.”

 

“I think I’d rather stay here” Kyungsoo says “I’d miss you all.”

 

“Aww we’d miss you too Kyungsoo.”

 

“I’d love to see my family again.” Jongin smiles “I miss them so much.”

 

“We can do that soon” Kris says “I’m calling my moms the second the Red Force is put in jail.”

 

“What about us old people?” Luhan asks “I don’t even have a high school diploma.”

 

“Actually I gave you all high school diplomas already” Tao says, he’s told them this a while ago but Luhan might not have understood at the time.  “It’s up to you what you want to do with your life.”

 

“Wow no pressure at all, cool” Luhan sighs. 

 

“What about you Tao?” Junmyeon asks looking directly into his eyes “Are you going back to the future when this is over?”

 

“Nah” Tao smiles “If we succeed I won’t have a job with the government in the future. Plus, like Kyungsoo said I’d miss you guys. I didn’t have many friends.”

 

“What about family?” Sehun asks. 

 

“That’s... complicated” Tao says “I’d rather not explain, point is, I’m staying here. Plus, I can go for a day trip to the future anytime I want!”

 

“Oh good because I’d like to see my family at Christmas” Junmyeon says “Maybe a few times in the summer.”

 

“We can do that for sure” Tao smiles at Junmyeon. 

 

“Sounds like we all have some good plans” Baekhyun smiles “But when are we getting out powers back?”

 

“I looked into it and...” Kris says looking away from the group. “It’s not great, there are no eclipses anywhere in the world for the rest of the year... a partial one next January or a full solar eclipse in July, I’m not sure which one we need to get our powers back but either way it’s going to be in 2019.”

 

“Lovely” Yixing sighs.  

 


	27. Travel Vlog

_ 13th of September 2018,  _ _ Charmant Motel _ _ , South Korea _

 

Sehun knew having another cup of coffee with dessert was a bad idea but he really thought he could have one. It’s on the dessert menu, Minseok even had one! But now he’s wide awake at 4 am and has no way of falling asleep. He’s tried the techniques Junmyeon gave him at midnight, good thing Junmyeon was still awake too, but they even they didn’t work. He’s even tried counting imaginary sheep but all it did was make him frustrated. 

 

Sehun decides that he’s given up trying to sleep, he might as well just hang out in the little lounge till breakfast starts at 5 am. At least the cereal is available 24/7, no milk though. He walks into the lounge and pours himself a bowl of milkless cereal and pulls out his phone. He’s only had it for about 4 months but he’s starting to get used to it. He mutes his phone and starts playing candy crush. Sehun wishes the others would wake up quickly, this is truly boring. He’d rather hear Baekhyun gush about his new boyfriend instead of this dead silent lounge. 

 

“We’ve arrived at Charmant Motel but the front desk isn’t open yet” Sehun hears a voice say, clearly someone on a phone. Sehun wouldn’t normally eavesdrop but he’s so bored. 

 

“I’m not sure, sir” The voice, a man’s voice, continues “I assume it would be open at 5 am.”

 

There’s a pause, Sehun wishes he could hear the other end of the conversation, maybe it would be more interesting. 

 

“We didn’t bring the gear for that” The man says peeking Sehun’s interest “We don’t even know if they are still here or which room... Right sorry sir.... no, you’re right I will try that... Of course, I won’t let them escape again... I understand.”

 

It might just be Sehun’s sleep-deprived mind but it seems the Red Force might have found them. He has to at least tell someone just in case. Sehun goes back to his room and wakes Luhan to tell him. 

 

“Sehun what the hell!” Luhan mumbles rubbing his eyes “Since when are you awake before me.”

 

“I think the Red Force is here!” Sehun whisper yells. 

 

“Did you sleep at all?” Luhan asks before sitting up “I think you’re hallucinating.”

 

“There was someone on the phone and they were talking about not letting people escape again” Sehun says ignoring Luhan. 

 

“Ugh, I do not want to deal with this ” Luhan sighs deeply “Let’s just tell Junmyeon or Kris.”

 

The two boys knock on Kris’ room as discreetly as possible. They need to wake Kris but not everyone in the motel. Eventually, Kris answers the door. 

 

“What do you need?” Kris sighs sleepily. 

 

“Sehun thinks the Red Force is here” Luhan says stepping into the room “Says he overheard a phone call.”

 

“Well...” Kris starts “We have to take this seriously.”

 

“Kris!” Jongin yells running into the open room “Someone was looking in my window!”

 

“Jongin not too loud!” Kyungsoo whispers running after him.

 

“It was so creepy can we please please switch to a hotel where the staff don’t watch people sleep!” Jongin whines more quietly. 

 

“Staff?” Sehun asks “It wasn’t the Red Force?”

 

“I don’t know” Jongin whines “They were just creepy and wearing a uniform I didn’t exactly wait before running here.”

 

“No, but you took the time to wake me up” Kyungsoo grumbles. 

 

“I didn’t want the creep watching you sleep!” Jongin explains. 

 

“Ok let’s wake the others and explain the situation” Kris says calmly “We’ll leave ASAP.”

 

It takes a very short amount of time for them to wake everyone up and get them all into Tao’s room for a mini-meeting. They pull the curtains on Tao’s window to prevent that creep/Red Force agent from seeing them. 

 

“I knew it wouldn’t end this easily!” Chanyeol gloats.

 

“Yeah, great Chanyeol” Kris says sarcastically “We need a plan quick.”

 

“We could put 8 of us in the SUV the rest run to a car rental place or something” Junmyeon suggests “How did they even find us?”

 

“I think that’s my fault” Tao admits “I paid with a credit card, but to be fair I never thought they’d track us down... Why do they even care?”

 

“We kind of stole our powers back and burnt and blinded two of their top members” Kris points out “I think they’re mad at us.”

 

“Ok so should I go blind this agent so we can leave or?” Baekhyun asks.

 

“I think a smarter move is to sneak out undetected” Junmyeon says “First of all, it will help us escape better since they won’t even know we left. Secondly, the police are going to get suspicious about all these blinded Red Force members.”

 

“Do we bring the guns?” Yixing asks softly. 

 

“Yeah if we wear sweaters we can probably hide them or we can stuff them in some of our backpacks” Tao nods “I think Junmyeon’s plan is the best.”

 

“I agree, 8 will go out the back exit to get to the SUV” Kris says “Baekhyun and 3 others get to the nearest car rental.”

 

“I’ll go” Minseok says “We’ll need someone over 21 to even rent a car.”

 

“Kyungsoo and Jongin are the best shots aren’t they?” Luhan asks “They should go too if you’re ok with it.”

 

“Yeah let’s do it” Kyungsoo agrees quickly. 

 

“Ok well let’s be careful not to get noticed” Junmyeon says standing up “But if you do see the Red Force Agent though, shoot him on stun right away. Everyone has their orbs and phones right?”

 

“Yes” Everyone says in unison.

 

“Alright let’s do this.” Kris says.

 

Sneaking around isn’t actually that hard at 4:30 am. No one is awake except that one random Red Force agent and they don’t have far to go. The SUV is very close to the exit and they get in it without seeing the man even once. They as quietly as possible get out of the parking lot, luckily Tao being the environment-friendly person he is bought an electric SUV so it makes very little sound. The plan goes smoothly. 

 

Baekhyun, Minseok, Jongin and Kyungsoo also get off the motel propriety but they do end up seeing the guy once peeking into windows but the swiftly avoid him. Turns out the closest car rental place is 7km away and opens in 3 hours. They decide to find a 24/7 coffee place while they wait. 

 

“Can I get a medium cappuccino, caramel macchiato and two iced americanos?” Minseok asks the barista at the counter “And 4 muffins, whatever flavour, for here”

 

“Sure, that will be $17.65” The barista answers “We’ll bring it out once it’s ready.”

 

They sit at a table and wait for their drinks. Minseok calls the other group to check up on them. 

 

“Tao?” Minseok asks before putting the phone on speaker “How are you guys?”

 

“It’s Junmyeon actually, Tao’s driving I’m just borrowing his phone.” Junmyeon answers “We finally found a reputable hotel that will let us book 6 double rooms and pay in cash. It’s rarer than you’d think...”

 

“That’s great!” Baekhyun says “So where is it?”

 

“Yeah that’s the bad news” Kris says joining the conversation “It’s a 7-hour drive from here, so you guys might want to take a train instead. It’s in the town of Inje.”

 

“Bright side is the Red Force won’t be anywhere near us though!” Junmyeon says. 

 

“Ok we’ll check train tickets and call you back” Minseok answers before hanging up “I’ve never been on a train... this should be fun.”

 

“Smart” Baekhyun says “We can hide keep our guns in Kyungsoo’s backpack and no one will even check, security for trains is really relaxed.”

 

“That’s kind of scary” Jongin says scrunching his face. 

 

“Here are your drinks and food” A waitress says putting them on the table smiling way more than anyone should at 5 am, she’s clearly looking for a tip “And napkins.”

 

“I’m excited to try coffee” Jongin says bringing his iced americano closer to him. 

 

He takes a sip using the straw and his face contorts with disgust. 

 

“It’s so bitter!” Jongin practically yells “Why would anyone drink that!”

 

“I told you you wouldn’t like it Nini” Kyungsoo says taking a sip of his own iced americano.

 

“I wanted to know!” Jongin says looking at his drink, there’s some room in the cup, maybe if he adds water it will taste better. 

 

“You worked at a diner how have you never had coffee?” Baekhyun asks before drinking his caramel macchiato.

 

“I didn’t eat there” Jongin says seriously while looking at the muffins for a good one “You wouldn’t either if you knew the kitchen staff like I did.”

 

“Jane isn’t  _ that _ bad” Kyungsoo says “She does a pretty good job.”

 

“And yet you never ate there either” Jongin points out before eating his muffin. 

 

“Jongin there’s something written on your napkin” Baekhyun points out before picking it up “A phone number? The waitress gave you her number!”

 

“Can I see that?” Kyungsoo asks Baekhyun before taking the napkin and ripping it into tiny pieces, everyone looks directly at Kyungsoo “What? We wouldn’t want someone getting a hold of her number, I’m tearing it out of consideration.” 

 

“Consideration?” Jongin says smiling mischievously “Miss! Could I get a glass of water please?”

 

“Of course!” She smiles before quickly going to get it. 

 

“What was that?” Kyungsoo asks upset. 

 

“I need something to waterdown this gross drink” Jongin says honestly “It doesn’t bother you that I smile at her does it?”

 

“Kim Jongin do not mess with me” Kyungsoo says glaring at his boyfriend “You’ll regret it.”

 

“Yikes” Baekhyun laughs “Someone’s sleeping on the couch.”

 

“I’m pretty sure there are two bed in the rooms we’re getting” Minseok says. 

 

“He’ll still sleep on the floor” Kyungsoo says before taking another sip of coffee.

 

“Hyung!” Jongin whines before making a puppy dog face “Please don’t make me sleep on the floor.”

 

“I wasn’t actually going to” Kyungsoo sighs giving up his mean act “just don’t try that again.”

 

“Here’s your water” The waitress says putting the glass down and smiling directly at Jongin before looking at the table “Oh did you lose your napkin? I should get you another one.”

 

“No that’s ok” Kyungsoo interrupts staring down the waitress “He doesn’t need it, he can use mine. I’m done eating anyways.”

 

She frowns and bites her lip before leaving the table.

 

“I thought you were kidding before but wow” Baekhyun laughs “Who knew you were as jealous as Jongin, you’re a great match.”

 

“Fine, yes I’m jealous but she was actually hitting on him” Kyungsoo admits “Let me remind you Jongin was jealous of Chanyeol and that idiot is head over heels for you, not me.”

 

“I believed Jongdae!” Jongin pouts “It’s exactly the same!”

 

“I remember you being very upset over a dream long before you ever talked to Jongdae” Baekhyun smirks. Jongin’s eyes go wide remembering what he told Baekhyun.

 

“Dream?” Kyungsoo asks confused “You never told me about a dream, why does Baekhyun know?”

 

“I found the train, it leaves in an hour. If we take bus 14 leaving from this stop in 12 minutes we can make it” Minseok interrupts still looking at his phone. 

 

“Were you paying attention at all?” Baekhyun asks. 

 

“No I was working on our actual plan” Minseok says “I’m sorry I’m not invested in Jongin’s jealousy dream.”

 

“You were listening!” Baekhyun says excitedly. 

 

“Let’s finish eating so we can pay and leave” Minseok says before taking another sip of his cappuccino. “We have a bus to catch.”

 

“It’s just as gross!” Jongin exclaims after drinking his watered down coffee.

 

After everyone finished their food and drinks and Kyungsoo’ drank Jongin’s coffee, Minseok pays the staff in cash. They all walk to the bus stop which is conveniently just outside the shop. 

 

“The bus is late” Minseok says nervously refreshing google maps, “It says 3-minute delay but if it gets later we might miss the train!”

 

“Hyung relax, we won’t miss the train, it’s leaving in like an hour” Baekhyun says placing his hand on Minseok’s shoulder to comfort him “Even if we do, we aren’t on a deadline, it’s fine.”

 

“It’s leaving in 45 minutes not an hour and the station is 20 minutes away” Minseok says tapping his foot on the ground nervously, he looks a bit like the rabbit from Alice in Wonderland. 

 

“Why are you so stressed about this?” Kyungsoo asks looking at Minseok’s odd behaviour. 

 

“I don’t know” Minseok says biting his lip nervously “I kind of feel responsible for all of you. I’m worried that something will go wrong again, it’s not like any of our plans really worked out properly.” 

 

“We weren’t exactly that careful” Baekhyun says “and even though our plans messed up, we’re all just fine. We’ll be fine even if we miss the train, which we won’t”

 

“I guess you’re right...” Minseok says taking a deep breath “We should call the others, give them an update.”

 

“That’s probably a good idea” Baekhyun nods before calling Tao’s number and hitting the speaker button “Yo!”

 

“Baekhyun?” Junmyeon answers “Is there something wrong?”

 

“Nope!” Baekhyun answers cheerfully “Minseok just wanted to update you guys.”

 

“We’re getting on a train in under an hour, we should be in town at 1 pm.” Minseok states 

 

“Oh good that’s about when we’ll be there” Junmyeon replies. 

 

“How is that possible you have a huge head start?” Kyungsoo asks confused. 

 

“Yeah... there were a lot of bathroom breaks and food breaks because I’m in a car full of children” Junmyeon whispers the last part into the mic.

 

“Ok well, great catching up with you but our bus is here!” Baekhyun says before hanging up. 

 

The bus ride to the train station is rather boring. Kyungsoo and Jongin are sharing headphones so they can listen to Kyungsoo’s music. Baekhyun complains and says they should have headphone rotations so everyone can listen but Kyungsoo points out they are his headphones and he doesn’t feel like sharing, except with Jongin of course. 

 

Despite Minseok’s worries, they get to the station with plenty of time. Minseok pays for the train tickets and all they have to do is wait. Baekhyun takes the opportunity to get some headphones in the overpriced convenience store along with a bunch of snacks even though there will be food on the train. 

 

“Alright guys the train is here” Minseok says to the group while Baekhyun tries to hold onto all his snacks “Let’s board.”

 

~=+•+=~

 

_ 13th of September 2018, Expressway _ _ 20 _ _ , South Korea _

 

“Who was that?” Jongdae asks from the last row of the SUV.

 

“Baekhyun” Junmyeon replies quickly.

 

“What did he want?” Jongdae asks again, despite the stops almost every 30 minutes Jongdae is getting a little restless in the car.  

 

“He was just giving me another update on when their train was arriving” Junmyeon answers. 

 

“Oh good!” Tao says while driving “When is that roughly?”

 

“It’s running a bit late so they’ll be there half another after us.” Junmyeon says before reading a road sign “Tao you have to take this exit unless you plan on actually going back to our home.”

 

“Huh?” Tao says passing right by the exit “Oh shit.”

 

“It’s fine I’m sure” Junmyeon sighs “I’ll turn the GPS on so it doesn’t happen again.”

 

“Can we stop at the house I want my neck pillow” Sehun asks. 

 

“Sehun...” Junmyeon says trying not to get frustrated but it’s hard being stuck in a car for so long with people who keep acting like whining children “We’ve been over this! The Red Force knows where we live, we can’t go back till they are arrested! Why do you think we’re driving to the north of the country?”

 

“Sorry...” Sehun slumps back in his seat annoyed.

 

“I know everyone’s annoyed being so close for a few hours but can we please no bother each other?” Tao asks keeping his eyes on the road “Just play on your phones or something. Stop acting like children.”

 

“You’d get frustrated too if you were squished between Kris and Chanyeol for hours” Luhan complains “Seriously who’s idea was that! Oh let’s put Luhan between the two giants it’s fine he’s small, Jongdae’s smaller than me! He should sit here!”

 

“Watch it Luhan!” Jongdae yells “I won’t hesitate to kick your seat!”

 

“Both of you cut it out!” Junmyeon yells completely frustrated “We’re running away from an evil organisation that tried to have us killed  _ many _ times and all you can do is complain about being in a car? Get your priorities straight!” 

 

“Sure you’d say that!” Sehun yells “You’re up at the front! You aren’t even touching anyone plus if you were it would be Tao and we know neither of you would be against that anyways!”

 

“Fine!” Junmyeon yells having had enough of it “Tao pullover! We’re switching seats!”

  
  


“Take the next exit onto rural road 76” The automated female GPS voice says. 

 

“Really?” Kris asks “Rural road?”

 

“Probably so we can turn around and go back the right way” Junmyeon says from the front. 

 

“I can pull over after this” Tao says taking the exit “Everyone just calm down till then.”

 

“Whatever” Luhan says “I will never take personal space for granted ever again.”

 

“Wow this road really isn’t busy” Kris remarks trying to change the tense atmosphere in the SUV.

 

“It’s got beautiful scenery!” Yixing comments looking at the sparkling lake “It’s like all this is just for us.”

 

“How are you not annoyed?” Jongdae says looking at the boy to his left. 

 

“Been through worse” Yixing shrugs “My leg is almost asleep and it smells like feet but it’s not painful so...”

 

“Tao better buy me a better neck pillow than I have at home” Sehun whines ruining Kris’ plan.

 

“Tao won’t waste our limited cash on that!” Chanyeol yells.

 

“Limited makes it sound like he isn’t carrying 6 months salary in his bag” Kris scoffs loudly. 

 

“Stop yelling! We’re in a small environment it all gets amplified!” Junmyeon, ironically, yells back.

 

“Everyone stop! There’s a gas station in one kilometre!” Tao yells grabbing the wheel tightly “Just shut it till then!”

 

“Tao-” Luhan starts. 

 

“What!” Tao says turning around to look at Luhan “What is so important that you have to disrespect me?”

 

“Look!” Luhan yells pointing in front. 

 

Tao realizes what Luhan is pointing at, it’s some trash on the road. A small cardboard box. Rural roads are  _ so _ well maintained. Without time to brake or properly swerve. Tao decides to just run over it.

 

They all hear a loud bang, sounds like air being let out of a tire. 

 

“God damn it!” Tao says angrily “I think we blew a tire running over that box, I’m pulling over and we can check.”

 

“Yay! We can switch seats now!” Luhan says triumphantly. 

 

“Shut it Luhan” Jongdae grumbles from the back. 

 

“I have a spare in the trunk” Tao sighs calming himself down “No big deal, now we might get there when Minseok and the others do.”

 

Tao slowly pulls the car over not wanting to cause any more damage. As soon as he does he hears a smashing glass sound. He quickly turns around and sees that the second-row window has been smashed in but he can’t see what did it. Everyone is coughing or falling out of consciousness. 

 

“What-” Junmyeon starts looking at the scene before coughing lightly. 

 

Tao doesn’t have time to react and open the door before the darkness takes over his vision. 

  
  
  
  
A/N: If you want to see Jongin actually do that with an iced americano  [ watch this ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kw2y0xsS_u8) at 2:55. 


	28. The Power of Light-The 4th Album Repackage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I'll be putting out all the chapters today

_13th of September 2018,_ _Inje, South Korea_

 

“Where are they?” Baekhyun asks after walking into the foyer of the hotel “Wouldn’t they wait for us here?”

 

“Maybe they went to their rooms?” Jongin suggests. 

 

“We should call them” Kyungsoo says pulling out his phone and calling Junmyeon. He doesn’t answer. “That’s weird I got an error message. Do you think Tao’s phone is dead?”

 

“That doesn’t sound good” Minseok says taking out his own phone and calling Kris, again the same error “No answer.”

 

“Let’s not panic” Kyungsoo says calmly “Their car will be in the parking lot right?”

 

“And if it’s not?” Baekhyun asks not at all convinced this isn’t the exact perfect time to panic.

 

“Let’s just check” Minseok nods agreeing with the plan. 

 

All four boys walk out of the hotel’s foyer, thoroughly confusing the reception staff, and check the large parking area for any black SUV with the right licence plate. Despite checking every single car in the parking lot, the only black SUV they find is a completely different car company. There’s no sign of Tao’s SUV anywhere. 

 

“Can we panic now?” Baekhyun asks after walking back towards the other boys. 

 

~=+•+=~

 

_13th of September 2018, Red Force Headquarters, South Korea_

 

Jongdae drifts into consciousness with a pounding headache. It takes him a full minute just to motivate himself to open his eyes, as soon as he does he wishes he didn’t. The white light is so bright he closes them right away. 

 

“Jongdae?” Junmyeon asks from Jongdae’s right “Are you awake?”

 

“Unfortunately” Jongdae says before opening his eyes again gaining a bit more awareness “Where are we?”

 

“My guess is a basement” Junmyeon says looking around the windowless room “They love basements.”

 

“How are we here?” Jongdae says confused looking around before pulling against the restraints he didn’t realize were tying him down to the chair he’s sitting in. “We were just pulling over...”

 

“Some Red Force agent threw a knockout bomb into our car” Junmyeon explains “None of the others have woken up yet.”

 

“Shhhh 10 more minutes” Sehun mumbles. 

 

“Sehun?” Jongdae asks looking at the half-asleep boy. 

 

“Fine I’m getting up” Sehun says frowning before pulling against his restraints “What the fuck?”

 

“Since when does little Sehunnie swear?” Jongdae mocks. 

 

“What’s going on?” Sehun says suddenly much more aware of his surrounding “Were we attacked?”

 

“I hate repeating myself” Junmyeon sighs. 

 

Junmyeon explained the situation to Sehun and then Luhan, Yixing and Chanyeol as they all woke up. Before the others could wake up, a tall lady wearing a long white lab coat and pointed heels walks in the room.

 

“Oh good some of you are awake” She says walking into the room before writing down on her clipboard, 10 security guards in full black military outfits walk in behind her. “Jaekyung wants to deal with you personally, till then we’re free to do anything we want.”

 

“For an organisation with a ‘noble’ cause you all sure act like an evil cult” Luhan spits.

 

“Take those five to room 415, the two sleeping ones to Dr Jung and that redhead... give him to Dr Kim or Dr Kang whoever wants him.” The lady says ignoring Luhan completely “Make sure they all go through a thorough physical before, I want blood work done.”

 

“Of course ma’am” The one answers in front before they all walk into the room. 

 

~=+•+=~

 

_13th of September 2018, Inje, South Korea_

 

“What do you mean we don’t have a plan?” Baekhyun yells frustrated “We lost everyone and we’re just going to sit here and do nothing?”

 

“Don’t blame us! You can think of a plan too!” Minseok yells back annoyed “I don’t know how to get them back either, I don’t even know where they are!”

 

“Please stop yelling” Jongin says feeling very scared with the whole situation, Kyungsoo catches the fear in Jongin’s voice and holds his hand to comfort him.

 

“Could we track their phones?” Kyungsoo asks Baekhyun “Is that possible?”

 

“I have Chanyeol on Find My Friends...” Baekhyun says trailing off wondering why he didn’t think of it “It would show his location the last time his phone connected to a cell tower, but they could be far from there now.”

 

“It’s worth a try” Minseok says calming down “Kyungsoo would you be able to find out if Jaekyung is still in the hospital?”

 

“I’m not comfortable hacking into the health care computer system... Tao took down the firewall of the Red Force so I’m not even sure how to do that part...” Kyungsoo says hoping he won’t need to try, he sort of knows how to but he doesn’t want to risk becoming wanted by the Korean government. 

 

“Ok don’t worry about it then” Minseok says waving off the thought. 

 

“It says his phone is on the side of the highway, as of 2 minutes ago” Baekhyun says looking down at his phone “Do you think they crashed?” 

 

“Not likely... they would have been there for hours which means an emergency team would have found them.” Minseok says “They would have contacted me, I’m officially Jongdae’s only emergency contact. I bet Chanyeol’s parents would have called you too.”

 

“So the Red Force probably kidnapped them” Kyungsoo says very matter of factly, not willing to bring up the idea that the Red Force may have just immediately killed them. 

 

“Where would they take them?” Jongin asks. 

 

“My guess would either be the museum or their research facility” Kyungsoo says remembering the files him and Tao gave to the police. 

 

“Research facility, you mean one of the basements of the spas?” Minseok asks intrigued. 

 

“No those where run mostly by robots and one red staff member. Their research facility is where their top 4 doctors do their... not so legal research. I know Dr Kang does psychological experiments and would probably not mind more test subjects.” Kyungsoo says cringing at the thought “I can’t remember the address though.”

 

“Do you at least know the city or name of the facility?” Minseok asks. 

 

“It’s on Jeju island, I can’t remember the name exactly but it’s in the basement of a hotel & casino” Kyungsoo says. 

 

“There can’t be too many of those... I can get a list off google” Baekhyun says already typing into his phone. 

 

“You said Jeju island?” Minseok asks “I’m guessing there’s no public transit to get there?” 

 

“No...” Baekhyun says looking up from his phone “We would need a plane ticket.”

 

“After paying for this one hotel room for 2 weeks...” Minseok pauses to count the money “We have $230, would that be enough?”

 

“Not for all of us” Baekhyun sighs. 

 

“Would be a great time for my power huh?” Jongin says trying to lighten the mood. 

 

“We’ll just have to hope the police finds them” Kyungsoo says before looking up into Jongin’s eyes. “Or we could try going back to the museum to see if they are there.”

 

“The staff will recognize us” Baekhyun says shaking his head “They’ll have security grab us as soon as they see us on camera and it’s not like I can use my power in public. At least at the research facility, we would have a chance.”

 

“Well looks like we’re sticking with the original plan of just hiding out here until the police take down the Red Force.” Minseok sighs “We better buy some cheap groceries, this hotel only has free breakfast.”

 

“Ramen diet it is” Baekhyun nods “True college kid style.”

 

“We’re going to die of salt poisoning before finding the others” Kyungsoo scoffs “I can make a much better cheap shopping list. This suite has a kitchenette, I say we get our money’s worth. ”

 

“Ok, tomorrow morning we’ll go shopping, for tonight let’s just sleep” Minseok says before leaving to go to his room with Baekhyun. 

 

~=+•+=~

 

_14th of September 2018, Red Force Headquarters, South Korea_

 

Chanyeol wakes up to the sound of an annoying alarm. It can’t be that late is it?

 

“Baekhyun turn that off” Chanyeol mumbles trying to turn away from the sound to sleep in a bit more. 

 

“There’s no Baekhyun here” A feminine voice says pulling Chanyeol out of his groggy state. 

 

He opens his eyes and realizes he’s not in a room he recognizes. Right, they were kidnapped by the red force. When he looks around he realizes he’s in a sort of office. In front of him is a very beautiful lady with her golden blonde hair up in a bun, she can’t be over 32. She’s wearing a pencil skirt, white blouse and vest that matches her skirt. She looks very professional and if Chanyeol didn’t know better he might have even trusted her. 

 

“I’m sorry to wake you but I have a schedule to keep” The woman says before grabbing a stack of pages and walking closer to Chanyeol. “Would you mind taking a seat? I know my couch isn’t that comfortable.”

 

“What’s going on?” Chanyeol says confused by her friendly tone. 

 

“I’m Dr Kang, resident psychologist” She introduces herself “Don’t worry I won’t be hurting you, I just have some ink blotches for you to look at.”

 

“No offence but” Chanyeol starts before sitting in the chair in front of Dr Kang “Why are you acting nice?”

 

“Ah, just because I work for the Red Force I must be evil?” She smiles “They have a cause I supported.”

 

“Supported?” Chanyeol asks intrigued. 

 

“I didn’t realize what they were really doing here until it was too late” She says flatly.

 

“Why don’t you just leave?” Chanyeol says still not buying the act. 

 

“I have too much at stake” Dr Kang says “I would lose my medical licence for what I’ve helped them with. I regret what I’ve done but I’m nothing without my work.”

 

“You’re a coward” Chanyeol frowns “You’d pick an easy life over morals.”

 

“Insult the doctor with full control over you till the CEO is back from medical leave” Dr Kang says writing something down on her notepad “You’re not the brightest, are you? That or you are severely overconfident.”

 

“I could easily escape this room” Chanyeol says “All I would have to do is run through the door.”

 

“The only reason you aren’t in handcuffs is because of me, I’d rather my patients feel comfortable around me” she says “but there are two trigger happy guards outside that door.”

 

“Oh” Chanyeol says dumbly, to be fair he did just wake up.

 

“Let’s get this started shall we” Dr Kang says holding up her inkblot page “What do you see?” 

 

“Can I just ask one more question?” Chanyeol hoping the doctor seems as reasonable as she’s acting. “Why are we doing this test and what’s going on with the others?”

 

“That’s two questions but I’ll answer them anyway.” Dr Kang sighs putting down her charts “For now, you’re all just human subjects. Mr Lee has told us to continue our research by using you. I’m not sure what he wants to do with you after he’s recovered and I don’t really want to know. I’m just trying to test if people with powers have different reactions to psychological tests. I’m hoping it could help me prove that we need your genes for the perfect human. As for the others, I think Dr Kwon is doing drug trials but honestly, I have no idea. Everyone’s doing whatever kind of testing they want just to ‘understand the human body better’. I’m not sure that’s what they really care about but, I don’t like talking to those people. I don’t think any of them are sane.”

 

“Great” Chanyeol sighs feeling pain spread across his chest thinking about what might be happening to his friends “My friends are probably getting drugged and I can’t do anything to help them.”

 

“But you’re safe here, so don’t worry” Dr Kang says as if it will somehow comfort him before picking up her page “So what do you see here?”

 

~=+•+=~

 

_14th of September 2018, Inje, South Korea_

 

“Baekhyun go get the cheapest frozen peas, no more than 2 pounds” Kyungsoo directs “Minseok could you get some canned fish, salmon, tuna whatever costs less per gram.”

 

“And me?” Jongin asks looking down at his boyfriend. 

 

“You can stay with me” Kyungsoo smiles at him “Help me find some good pasta and tomato sauce.”

 

“Can I hold your hand?” Jongin asks with the cutest smile across his face. 

 

“Sure” Kyungsoo trying to repress a huge smile “Let’s find the pasta aisle.”

 

They quickly find the aisle and try to find the pasta with the best price for volume. They settle on a box of penne and spaghetti. Next, they move onto the sauce, it’s really time-consuming and not interesting at all but at least they are together.  

 

“Soo!” Baekhyun whisper yells running down the aisle.

 

“I told you don’t call me-” Kyungsoo says before looking at Baekhyun’s empty hands “Where are the peas?”

 

“I saw a Red Force agent” Baekhyun says catching his breath.

 

“Are you sure?” Jongin asks. 

 

“I shot her while escaping the museum,” Baekhyun says seriously “How the hell did they find us?”

 

“Doesn’t matter.” Kyungsoo says putting the pasta back “We need to get Minseok and get out of here now.”

 

While trying their best to sneak around the aisle they look for Minseok. Luckily he is only one aisle over and they find him right away. 

 

“Minseok we need to get out right now” Kyungsoo whispers to Minseok “Do you have any idea how?”

 

“Uhh, we should sneak out the door somehow” Minseok says thinking fast “Wait why?”

 

“The Red Force is here” Baekhyun says walking towards the two after making sure the agent wasn’t near them “We need to leave now and quietly.”

 

“Ok yeah, emergency exits would just create a huge ‘we have left the building’ alarm, so front door it is.” Minseok nods “Let’s hope they don’t recognize us, Kyungsoo bring that cart to the front let’s ditch it once we are near the exit. It might help us from standing out.”

 

“Should we split up?” Jongin asks “If they are looking for four 20-year-old guys then if we split up they won’t suspect us.”

 

“Good plan” Minseok nods “Jongin you’re with me and before you whine, I can defend myself and so can Baekhyun but you and Kyungsoo will need us.”

 

“Ok hyung I trust you.” Jongin agrees, though he still doesn’t want to leave Kyungsoo. 

 

“You two leave in 5 minutes, take the first available bus and then try to get back to the hotel” Minseok explains taking up a bit of a leadership role, how do Junmyeon and Kris do this all the time? “I don’t care what bus it is, just take it. Work out a way to the hotel afterwards.”

 

“Ok” Baekhyun nods “Good luck, see you at the hotel.”

 

~=+•+=~

 

_14th of September 2018, Red Force Headquarters, South Korea_

 

Kris winces as the needle goes into his back. He would resist but with the gun pointed at his head by a very mean-looking dude, he will let them take any type of non-lethal samples they need.

 

“That’s all for today” The scientist says pleased with all the samples he’s looking at on his table “Blood, skin, bone marrow... not bad. I’ll want a liver sample later but we should wait till the sleeping drugs are well out of their system first. I’m still not completely sure what caused their prolonged reaction to it. It’s intriguing...”

 

“So what do you want to do with them?” The guard asks without lowering his gun. 

 

“You task force people are all the same” The scientist scoffs “No interest in the progress we make.”

 

“Whatever” The guard sighs “Just tell me what you want.”

 

“Send them to the holding cell.” The scientist says while writing on his clipboard “Give them meal plan 6.”

 

The guard doesn’t say another word before putting cuffs on both Kris and Tao to escort them. They don’t have to walk too far before they are being locked in a cell and getting their handcuffs off. Once the guard leaves them alone Kris finally speaks. 

 

“I don’t know about you but I’d rather not have liver biopsied” Kris says “We need an escape plan.”

 

“We wait for the police.” Tao sighs sitting down on one of the cheap beds. “It’s all we can do.”

 

“There’s nothing else we can do?” Kris asks confused “We just sit here and hope someone saves us before they take out our spleens?”

 

“I know this place” Tao continues “Read all about it, we can’t get out. Not without outside help.”

 

“I don’t accept that” Kris shakes his head “There has to be a way.”

  


~=+•+=~

 

_14th of September 2018, Inje, South Korea_

 

Baekhyun and Kyungsoo wait in the store, they try hiding around the deli section since it has a bunch of small stalls where they can hide behind. After 5 minutes of walking around the meats and cheese, they finally head for the exit. Good timing because the butcher was really starting to judge them. 

 

Once out the store, Baekhyun takes out his phone to look up the next bus which is a bit of a challenge since you can’t exactly type in “anywhere but here as fast as possible” into google maps. They decide to just wait at the nearest stop and hope a bus comes soon. Based on the fact Minseok and Jongin aren’t here, a bus probably just left which means they’ll have to wait at least 15 minutes for another one. 

 

“Do you think we should go to a stop that’s not visible from the store?” Kyungsoo asks Baekhyun. 

 

“I’m sure it’s fine” Baekhyun dismisses looking at the bus schedule. 

 

“I don’t think so, isn’t that women the Red Force agent?” Kyungsoo says pulling on Baekhyun sleeve.

 

“Oh fuck” Baekhyun mumbles “You don’t think she’ll recognize us, do you?”

 

“Based on her walking directly towards us?” Kyungsoo says getting scared “Yes I do”

 

“Run!” Baekhyun says thinking quickly. 

 

Baekhyun grabs Kyungsoo and pulls him into a nearby little patch of trees. It’s dense enough to hide in but the agent will find them in minutes if she looks through it. Baekhyun and Kyungsoo hide behind a little bush not saying a word hoping one of them will think of a way out of this. 

 

“Your power?” Kyungsoo mouths to Baekhyun. 

 

Baekhyun shakes his head. He doesn’t have a clear view of where she is, there’s no way he could aim. On top of that, they are near a busy road and a beam of light that bright could cause crashes. Baekhyun can’t bring himself to hurt innocent bystanders. There’s nothing he can do but sit here and wait to be captured or more likely killed. Baekhyun shuts his eyes and tries to keep himself from freaking out. He doesn’t even notice when he starts breathing hard out of fear. Kyungsoo covers Baekhyun mouth hoping the agent didn’t already hear it. 

 

“We’ll be ok” Kyungsoo whispers super _super_ quickly hoping it might calm Baekhyun. 

 

They hear the distinct sound of someone running through the plants, only it sounds like someone leaving, not moving towards them. They sit there and wait for a minute in complete silence before Baekhyun dares to speak up. 

 

“What happened?” Baekhyun asks “Why’d she leave?”

 

“I-” Kyungsoo starts before frowning and looking at the ground trying to think about how to phrase what he saw “Baekhyun can you create holograms?”

 

“No?” Baekhyun says confused “My power is light, not illusion.”

 

“Yes, but bending light could change what we see right?” Kyungsoo says. 

 

“I guess...” Baekhyun says. He’s never thought about that.

 

“Great well I saw something that looks _a lot_ like you leave here” Kyungsoo finally admits “I think that’s what she went running after. I didn’t want to say anything until I was sure she was gone.”

 

“How is that possible?” Baekhyun asks “I didn’t do that!”

 

“Well, our powers act out when we have strong emotions...” Kyungsoo says trying to figure it out “So maybe when you were freaking out your subconscious saved you.”

 

“This is huge...” Baekhyun says thinking about it, being able to bend light and not only create opens so many new ways of using his power “We need to call Minseok.”

 

“We need to get on a bus” Kyungsoo answers “Preferably one far away from here in case she comes back.”

 

“Yes ok bus first, then call” Baekhyun agrees “Now let’s get out of this bush something has been stabbing me the whole time.”

 

Once they finally get to the bus stop down the road and they are sure the Red Force agent hasn’t followed them, they decide to call Minseok

 

“Minseok?” Baekhyun asks after the call connects “We have something important to tell you.”

 

“If this is because you’re at the hotel without us, don’t worry we just got a little turned around with the bus system. We’ll get there in about 20 minutes” Minseok answers. 

 

“120 minutes” Baekhyun hears a voice, obviously Jongin, in the background say. 

 

“120? That’s ridiculous where are we?” Minseok says trying to cover the phone but it doesn’t really work and Baekhyun hears it anyways “So we’ll be a while but don’t worry.”

 

“That sucks but that’s actually not why I’m calling, we’re actually not even on a bus yet.” Baekhyun corrects. 

 

“What? How is that possible what happened?” Minseok asks shocked. 

 

“Well the Red Force agent found us but we got away and that’s actually what I wanted to talk about” Baekhyun starts before Kyungsoo steals the phone, he knows how to explain it better.  

 

“He, somehow, created a sort of projection of himself and the agent followed it” Kyungsoo explains. 

 

“Projection? Like a movie?” Minseok says confused. 

 

“Well you know he controls light, right? So he made a hologram out of light” Kyungsoo explains.

 

“Since when can he do that?” Minseok asks. 

 

“I don’t know” Baekhyun says taking back the phone “I didn’t know I did it.”

 

“Tao said something when he was going to get you...” Minseok says thinking back “The reason he thought you had powers...”

 

“I created an eclipse” Baekhyun says remembering it “Do you think I can really do that? Can I create an eclipse?”

 

“It’s worth a try” Minseok says “Even if it doesn’t get our powers back, creating images by bending light is a huge asset, not that we’ll need it since the police will handle everything...”

 

“I’ll work on trying to create an eclipse as soon as I can” Baekhyun nods “I hope this works.”

 

“If it does” Minseok replies “We have a chance at breaking the others out.”


	29. Defying the Nature Laws

_ 15th of September 2018, Red Force Headquarters, South Korea _

Junmyeon’s lungs burn with the smoke he’s inhaling. He’s been here before, he doesn’t know where or when. but he has. The pink smoke, glass box, the tall gray walls and the sand. How is he back? Where was he before? He fights against the smoke no matter how much it burns. He needs to get out, he doesn’t know how but he has to fight it. Junmyeon forces himself to remember. It’s like he’s under a spell and can’t remember anything. Did he have a family? A home? He can’t seem to remember them. The smoke burns so much Junmyeon wants to scream but he knows it will make it worse. Maybe it’s a drug, are spells even real? Drugs... smoke... it all sounds familiar.

Junmyeon holds his breath and hopes if he doesn’t breath the pink smoke he’ll remember everything and figure out how to get out. Junmyeon covers his nose with his hand and holds his breath. He falls to the ground unable to stand. The longer he holds his breath, the more the darkness closes in on him. Right as he decides to take another breath he feels something in his arm. Without letting go of his nose he looks down at it. There’s a tube? An IV? Suddenly the world goes dark. Junmyeon feels dizzy and takes a breath but it’s too late. The glass box is gone, all he sees is darkness. 

It takes a moment for Junmyeon’s eyes to adjust to the darkness before he realizes where he is. He’s in the Red Force headquarters. His head is fuzzy, unsure of what the Red Force is or why he’s in their headquarters but he knows he needs to take the IV out. Junmyeon uses all his force to pull the needle out of his arm. Slowly his head starts getting clearer, memories rushing in and a nasty headache settling in as well. 

Junmyeon looks around the room. It looks like a weird surgery suite, much too big with 5 surgery tables including his own. Each table has a body hooked up to an IV. Junmyeon can’t remember their names yet but he’s sure they are his friends. He also sees many cupboards and clipboards. Finally regaining feeling in his legs he gets up to help the others. Standing and walking ends up being more of a challenge than Junmyeon thought. First, he reads the clipboards to make sure pulling out the IVs won’t be dangerous. 

“When Mr Lee returns, use the recovery drug to reverse the effects... blah blah... it’s in drawer 3... to be injected subcutaneously” Junmyeon reads out loud “Oh thank god I can’t deal with this anymore.”

Junmyeon slowly walks over to the drawers and finds the needles he’s looking for. Conveniently all 5 are stored in a nice little metal box in the refrigerated drawer. He takes one and injects himself with the needle hoping he did it right. Rather quickly he feels his head clearing much faster, it worked. 

With a much clearer mind, Junmyeon decides to unhook Yixing first, having a doctor awake would be a huge help. Plus now that he’s more conscious he’s much less comfortable with the idea of injecting anyone. 

“Yixing?” Junmyeon asks after administering the drug “Are you awake?”

“Gimme like one minute” Yixing says groggily “My head is killing me.”

“I don’t know how much time we have before the Red Force doctors come back” Junmyeon says stressed “It’s like 2 am but I’m sure they have to come back soon, they wouldn’t leave us unattended for that long, no matter what time of day.”

“Alright” Yixing groans sitting up “Let’s get these guys free.”

Junmyeon and Yixing quickly wake everyone up from their drug-induced nightmares. It’s a lot faster than the last time Yixing did this since they have a handy recovery drug. 

“I hate them” Jongdae says waking up “What kind of person subjects people to this torture, not once but twice. Let’s get out, now.”

“Not so fast.” Junmyeon says still reading through the files he found in a cupboard “Looks like we’re safe here till 5 am, I was wrong they really do just leave us here at night.”

“So?” Sehun counters “We should get out while we can.”

“But we don’t know what’s out that door” Yixing explains “It’s not like the doctor's files include information on the building plan or what the security is like. Who knows? maybe if we open that door alarms will go off.”

“Ok but if they come in a 5 am and find us very much awake and not drugged up, we’ll have an issue.” Luhan points out. 

“If Tao were here he could hack that desktop and find a way out” Jongdae sighs.

“Jongdae might be onto something” Junmyeon says before walking over to the computer “If they have a guest account I can log into Tao’s email. He has all the info he sent to the police saved on it. Hopefully, we’ll be able to figure out how to escape.”

“Do it!” Luhan says excitedly. 

~=+•+=~

 

_ 15th of September 2018, Inje, South Korea _

 

“I give up!” Baekhyun yells “I can’t do it! It’s the middle of the night! I just want to sleep! Wasn’t it supposed to be with a solar eclipse anyways?”

 

“Based on what I read of their research, I think lunar could work too. Plus, a lunar eclipse will probably be easier than a solar eclipse, this is the best time to do it.” Kyungsoo says calmly “You can do it, you just need to calm down and concentrate.”

 

“How am I supposed to cast a shadow on the moon?” Baekhyun says exasperated “It’s huge! Plus I make light I don’t get rid of it! Who knows if this will work anyways!”

 

“You  _ control _ light” Kungsoo corrects before sighing “We can take a break and sleep, we won’t get anywhere with you in this mood. We can try again tomorrow.”

 

“Good” Baekhyun nods before walking back towards the hotel. 

 

They are about a 5-minute walk away from the hotel. They wanted to be close but far enough so no one can really see them in case Baekhyun accidentally makes some sort of light. Kyungsoo starts following him before getting a call. 

 

“Minseok?” Kyungsoo answers getting Baekhyun’s attention “Did you finally lose that Red Force agent that was following you around? Are you on your way back?”

 

“Not really no” Minseok says breathing hard.

 

“Are you ok?” Kyungsoo asks concerned before putting the call on speaker so Baekhyun can listen too.

 

“We’re being chased by Red Force cars!” Kyungsoo hears Jongin yell in the background. 

 

“Now would be a really good time for that eclipse!” Minseok says stressed “We lost them by running through an alley but I have no doubt they’ll catch up soon.”

 

“Can’t you hide somewhere?” Kyungsoo asks scared. 

 

“Uh well” Minseok starts before being cut off “Shit they’re-”

 

“Minseok?” Kyungsoo yells into the phone even though he heard the call disconnect “Baekhyun we have to help them!”

 

“I can’t Kyungsoo!” Baekhyun says feeling like such a failure. “You think I haven’t been trying for the past 7 hours?”

 

“You’re right, you trying with a level head didn’t work” Kyungsoo says firmly “Maybe if you freak out again you can save them.” 

 

“I’m not going to like this am I?” Baekhyun says knitting his brows together.

 

“No, you’ll need to feel a lot of emotional pain probably.” Kyungsoo starts “Minseok and Jongin are probably minutes from being captured or killed. The others might already be dead, if not they’re probably being experimented on in ways you can’t even imagine. You’re the only one who can do this. You have to do this. Think about every single one of them. Close your eyes and picture what they’re going through.”

 

“I really can’t though” Baekhyun sighs looking at the ground “I don’t know how to actually picture that and believe it’s real.” 

 

“Baekhyun you have to do this right now” Kyungsoo says a lot more seriously than before “Right now!”

 

“I can’t!” Baekhyun yells back. 

 

“You can and you will” Kyungsoo says summoning his most terrifying look “I swear to God Baekhyun if Jongin dies because you couldn’t play shadow puppet master I will blame you forever.”

 

“I told you I can’t fucking do it!” Baekhyun yells out so emotionally drained “It d-doesn’t matter if you hate me forever! I literally can’t do it!”

 

“So what because it’s Minseok and Jongin you can’t?” Kyungsoo spits “If Chanyeol was about to be run over by some random demon from the Red Force you’d snap your fingers and give him his fire back but Minseok and Jongin aren’t good enough? Chanyeol’s already dead right? So it doesn’t matter anymore?”

 

“He’s not dead!” Baekhyun yells back not accepting it at all “H-he’s not dead and I’m n-not holding back for Minseok and Jongin! I would do a-anything to save them!  I-I just can’t! I’m useless! I know it!”

 

“Baekhyun-” Kyungsoo starts. 

 

“No!” Baekhyun yells back before falling to the ground trying hard to hold back tears, but his sleep deprivation is getting the best of him “I c-can’t...”

 

“Baekhyun I’m so sorry” Kyungsoo says changing his tone immediately and dropping beside him to comfort him “I didn’t mean any of it, I thought if I made you mad you’d be able to do it.”

 

“You’re right though” Baekhyun says before another tear falls down his cheek “T-they’re all suffering because I’m too w-weak to cast a s-shadow.”

 

“It’s not your fault you tried everything-” Kyungsoo says before being interrupted. 

 

“It is! I didn’t t-try hard enough! I didn’t want it to be real.” Baekhyun starts before bursting into tears. Kyungsoo just hugs him unsure of what to say “I was tired and I wanted to sleep more than I wanted a stupid eclipse. Because somehow if I give them their powers back... I don’t know... it becomes real? The danger becomes more real and Chanyeol might actually be dead-”

 

“Baekhyun please-” Kyungsoo interrupts feeling a tear trail down his face as well. “I’m so sorry”

 

“It-it’s real though, Minseok and Jongin are- and Chanyeol and everyone else is either dead or being hurt and I-I’m just here crying on the g-grass” Baekhyun says before sobbing “I-I love him and I just got him b-but now- I’m going to l-lose him.”

 

“Baekhyun please stop” Kyungsoo says feeling the same pain “Don’t say that, we don’t know that-”

 

“I c-can’t, I just can’t” Baekhyun screams through his tears not really knowing what he means exactly “P-please, I can’t!”

 

“Baekhyun calm down” Kyungsoo says wiping his own tears “You’re going to hurt yourself just breathe with me. Baekhyun look at me.”

 

Baekhyun looks up at Kyungsoo and tries to calm his breathing. It’s hard because all he wants is to cry and scream but he follows along with Kyungsoo. They take deep breaths together which does help. 

 

“I’m sorry I freaked out” Baekhyun says still feeling a pang of pain in his heart but he’s much better than a few minutes ago “I’m just exhausted.”

 

“It’s ok” Kyungsoo smiles lightly “I’m sorry for yelling at you.”

 

“You had a good reason to” Baekhyun says trying to return the smile “I’m sorry it didn’t work.”

 

“Baekhyun stop apologizing, you didn’t do anything wrong.” Kyungsoo says before standing up “How about we just go back to our room and get some room service hot chocolate before going to sleep?”

 

“Can we afford that?” Baekhyun asks getting up as well. 

 

“Doesn’t matter” Kyungsoo smiles putting a hand on Baekhyun’s shoulder “We need it.”

 

“Ok” Baekhyun says softly. 

 

The two boys make their way back to their hotel room in silence, both not in the mood and frankly really really tired. They take the elevator up to their floor and walk down the hall till they find their room. Baekhyun sleepily reaches for the handle without unlocking it, but the door was already unlocked.

 

“You locked the door on your way out, didn’t you?” Baekhyun says looking up at Kyungsoo. 

 

“I did” Kyungsoo says with mild concern “I even double-checked it was locked...”

 

They hear movement from inside their room and Baekhyun gets pulled right out of his sleepy state, ready to blind any Red Force agent that might be inside. They don’t open the door, unsure of what to do, should they just leave?

 

“Baekhyun? Kyungsoo?” a voice calls from inside. 

 

“Jongin?” Kyungsoo says confused before opening the door and being tackled by Jongin hugging him. 

 

“How?” Baekhyun says looking at Jongin.

 

“The eclipse” Minseok says stepping out of the room to join the others. “Didn’t Kyungsoo get his powers back too?”

 

“Eclipse?” Baekhyun says confused “But I didn’t-”

 

“Let’s get inside, it’s awkward in the hallway” Jongin says finally pulling away from Kyungsoo. 

 

They all get settled in the tiny living room of their hotel suite.

 

“I don’t know how neither of you noticed but there was a lunar eclipse, not too long after our call was disconnected” Minseok explains “Long enough to make us think we were really going to get caught but we made it out ok. Jongin teleported us out quickly.”

 

“We were a little... preoccupied” Kyungsoo says rubbing the back of his neck “I made Baekhyun cry and so we were sort of focused on that. I didn’t even check for an eclipse...” 

 

“You made him cry?” Jongin says looking concerned. 

 

“It seemed like a good plan at the time” Kyungsoo defends “I just wanted to make him angry... but in the end, it worked.”

 

“We should go get the others” Baekhyun says firmly pulling out his phone “Kyungsoo you said they were at that casino on Jeju island? Jongin can you teleport there?”

 

“Do you have pictures?” Jongin asks before Baekhyun hands him his phone with the street view of the casino “No problem, I can even teleport us all in at once. It’s good to have my power back.”

 

“Shouldn’t we rest?” Kyungsoo asks worried “You aren’t exactly in the best state right now Baekhyun.”

 

“I’ll be fine” Baekhyun brushes it off “We need to get them back.”

 

“Ok let’s go” Minseok nods. 

 

~=+•+=~

 

_ 15th of September 2018, Red Force Headquarters, South Korea _

 

“I’m not sure this is really  _ better _ Junmyeon” Jongdae whispers from the back of the supply closet they are hiding. 

 

“You want to go back to being experimented on?” Junmyeon whispers sarcastically while trying to keep as much of his personal space as he can in the cramped space. “We need to make sure no one is walking around here before checking the room down the hall” 

 

“I’ll go” Sehun whispers while shuffling to the door “If we get caught it’s best if it’s just one of us. I know how to sneak around, it’s best I do it.”

 

“Are you sure?” Junmyeon asks looking into Sehun’s eyes. 

 

“I’ll go with you” Luhan says firmly “You could use back up.”

 

“Ok” Sehun agrees.

 

Sehun and Luhan look around the hallway, still no one. Luhan knows he’s supposed to go down the hall since that’s where the other guys probably are but he’s particularly drawn to the office directly in front of the closet. He can’t help himself and walks towards the room. 

 

“Luhan?” Sehun whispers looking at his friend “What are you doing?”

 

“I want to check this room first” Luhan says opening the door.

 

Luckily the door isn’t locked which probably means there’s nothing important in it, but Luhan can’t help but feel there’s something pulling him in there. It feels almost like the pull he felt with the orbs but those shouldn’t be in here should they? 

 

“You can’t go alone.” Sehun says stressed before joining him in the room and closing the door. 

 

Nothing in the office looks really stands out, it just looks like a normal office. A little cluttered, especially the papers on the desk but still pretty professional. Luhan’s not convinced though, he starts taking down the paintings hung on the wall hoping for a hidden safe, but there’s nothing. Sehun joins in once he realizes what Luhan is doing. 

 

“We should go to the room Junmyeon told us to go to now” Sehun says. 

 

“I just want to check one thing first” Luhan pouts. 

 

“Ok fine” Sehun sighs. 

 

Luhan moves to the desk to check the drawers. Some just have office supplies, one is full of snacks so naturally, Luhan steals a Snickers bar, Sehun steals a small bag of Doritos. In the bottom drawer, he finds some files and briefly looks over them before realizing they don’t have any useful information. When he goes to put the file back he notices a faint glow from the bottom of the drawer. Luhan decides to touch the light. Maybe because he’s a bit tired or maybe because he’s not fully off the drug he was on, but he really wants to touch the light. 

 

“Woah” Sehun says seeing the light “Is that coming from a secret compartment or something? Try pulling on the corners!”

 

“Oh” Luhan says feeling a little dumb for not thinking of that “Yeah I’ll do that.”

 

He starts pulling at the drawer and eventually pulls the false bottom out. Inside he sees all the orbs, except they’re glowing?

 

“Did we just find the orbs?” Sehun says his eyes widening “Junmyeon is going to be so proud of us!”

 

“Let’s get these right now, open every pocket you have” Luhan says before immediately pulling them out of the drawers.

 

They try their best to put the orbs in their combined 4 jeans pockets and stuff the other four in Sehun’s sweater pocket. As soon as Luhan touches his own orb it explodes into golden dust. 

 

“What?” Luhan says confused before he thinks for a second “You don’t think that means...”

 

“You got your power back?” Sehun finishes his sentence “I don’t know but try.”

 

Luhan looks at a pen on the table and tries to make it float in the air. Before he has the chance, they hear the door handle move and both of them dive under the desk to hide. 

 

“Give me my orb” Sehun whispers quietly to Luhan. 

 

Luhan nods and gets it out of his pocket hands it to Sehun. They hear more than one pair of footsteps slowly enter the room, probably around 2-3 people. Luhan decides to move to the little hole in the desk where the wires are being passed through to look at the people who entered the room. He looks at their shoes, looks like two men. If Luhan does really have his powers he can throw the men onto the ceiling so him and Sehun can run out of the room. If they get the orbs to the others they can easily fight their way out and escape. 

 

Luhan concentrates hard, he needs to do this quickly if it’s going to work. He doesn’t know if they are carrying guns but Luhan hopes that with the element of surprise they won’t realize what happened before Sehun and him are already out of the room. 

 

Luhan grabs Sehun’s wrist to get his attention and uses his fingers to count down from 3. Once he puts down his last finger he closes his eyes and hopes if there’s any justice in the world those guys will end up pinned to the ceiling. Based on the thumps and shouts of surprise, it worked. 

 

Sehun and Luhan sprint for the door and run right back into the closet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: the Baekhyun scene was accidentally taken from my real-life experiences :). I hope no one actually felt sad but at the same time, I hope it wasn’t too sappy and unbelievable.


	30. The End? The End.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little Minecraft joke there as the title. I have put out a little trailer thingy on my youtube (Jongdae's Dimple) so go check that out if you want.

_ 15th of September 2018, Red Force Headquarters, South Korea _

 

“What the hell!” Junmyeon whisper yells after being pushed into a corner as Luhan and Sehun slam back into the closet.

 

“Take these!” Luhan whispers aggressively while taking the orbs out of his pockets, Sehun follows his lead “Quickly!”

 

“How did you?” Jongdae asks quietly holding his yellow orb before it disappears into a puff of gold dust “What just happened?”

 

Sehun puts a finger over his lips to tell Jongdae to quiet down.

 

“Where did they go?” They hear a deep voice say outside the closet. 

 

“I don’t know but they have their powers back” A second responds “That really hurt, I think I broke something.”

 

“They can’t have gone far right?” The first voice says “Maybe they’re in there...”

 

Everyone in the closet gets ready to fight whoever is in the hall in case they open the door. Luhan stands at the very front ready to launch the men at the wall, which is exactly what he does when the door opens. Both men are sent flying across the hall and slam into the wall. 

 

“Fuck!” One of them yells in pain “Yixing better be there with you!”

 

“Kyungsoo?” Yixing says before running over to help “Why didn’t you say something?”

 

“We didn’t-” Kyungsoo coughs “didn’t know you were there.”

 

“I’m so sorry Kyungsoo” Luhan says feeling really bad “Jongin are you ok?”

 

“No” Jongin says weakly “I...ah... hurts”

 

“I’ll help you in just a second Jongin” Yixing says already using his power on Kyungsoo to heal up his broken ribs. 

 

“Should we really be standing out here in the open?” Sehun asks feeling nervous.

 

“You think we can’t take a few Red Force agents?” Junmyeon smirks “With our powers back?”

 

“True” Jongdae nods smiling. 

 

“How’s that Jongin?” Yixing says after healing him as well. 

 

“Better” Jongin say getting up “We’re lucky you were here.”

 

“How exactly did we all get our powers back?” Sehun asks “I mean I know we got them from the orbs but why did that work, didn't we have to wait for the eclipse?”

 

“Baekhyun made an eclipse” Kyungsoo smiles proudly. 

 

“Of course...” Junmyeon says figuring it out “Well that’s a neat trick.”

 

“Thanks, only took me 7 hours and emotional trauma.” Baekhyun says smiling walking towards them with Minseok beside him “Speaking of which, where’s Chanyeol?”

 

“He went with either Dr Kang or Dr Kim, I don’t know who they picked.” Yixing says remembering what the lady said when they first arrived. 

 

“Dr Kang?” Kyungsoo says his eyes widening “That’s not good, Baekhyun come with me, we need to get him right away.”

 

Kyungsoo grabs Baekhyun arm and immediately runs down the hall without another word. 

 

“Does anyone know why he reacted like that?” Jongdae asks concerned. 

 

“I never read the personnel files, only Kris, Tao and Kyungsoo did.” Junmyeon says equally confused. 

 

“Speaking of Tao and Kris” Minseok says “Do you guys know where they are?”

 

“Uhhh” Junmyeon says blanking “Dr Jung? I think?” 

 

“Ok where Dr Jung’s office?” Jongin asks.

 

“They didn’t exactly give us a map of the place you know” Jongdae says. 

 

“Should we split up and search then?” Luhan suggests.

 

“Everyone be very careful, always look around for Red Force agents and take them out if you need to” Junmyeon says firmly “Make sure to text the group chat if you find them. I’ll need a partner because I don’t have my phone.”

 

“Yeah, me neither so I’ll stay with Minseok” Jongdae says remembering they left them at the museum.

 

“I’ll go with you Junmyeon” Sehun smiles. 

 

“I’ll stay with Jongin since he can’t exactly attack someone with teleportation” Luhan says walking closer to Jongin.

 

“Then I have to go with Jongdae and Minseok” Yixing says “Healing isn't an attack either.”

 

“Alright, it’s settled” Junmyeon nods “Let’s go find them.”

 

~=+•+=~

 

“Which room!” Baekhyun yells stressed out of his mind. 

 

“207! Baekhyun, don’t do anything reckless!” Kyungsoo replies running towards the door. “She’s probably still in there, she works late hours! Plus, Chanyeol might not even be in there!”

 

“She deserves to rot in hell!” Baekhyun yells reaching for the handle ignoring Kyungsoo completely.

 

“Don’t” Kyungsoo grabs his arm “She might not have done anything, those were past experiments!”

 

“Doesn’t matter” Baekhyun says trying to fight Kyungsoo’s grasp. “Let me go!”

 

“Let me trap her first, you get Chanyeol and calm down, ok?” Kyungsoo says “You’re going to kill her if you use your powers when you’re this angry!”

 

“Fine” Baekhyun grumbles “After you.”

 

Kyungsoo opens the door and finds Dr Kang sitting on her loveseat sipping tea. Without a second thought, he traps her legs in rock before she can even realize someone opened her door. 

 

“What?” Dr Kang says looking down at her stuck legs “How dare you!”

 

“Chanyeol!” Baekhyun says running over to Chanyeol who’s laying on the couch without a single sign of movement “He better be alive or you won’t be!”

 

“Baekhyun!” Kyungsoo says “Don’t! You’ll regret it!”

 

“Oh stop freaking out” Dr Kang sighs “He’s fine, I thought he could use a little nap after our session. It’s just a sleeping drug.”

 

“Chanyeol!” Baekhyun says desperately trying to wake his boyfriend “Please wake up!”

 

“Can you let me go now?” Dr Kang says looking at the rock trapping her. 

 

“Absolutely not” Kyungsoo says narrowing his eyes.

 

“Chanyeol!” Baekhyun yells again feeling tears well in his eyes. 

 

“B-Baekhyun?” Chanyeol says shutting his eyes even tighter “I-I”

 

“I’m here” Baekhyun says stroking the side of Chanyeol’s face “You’re ok.”

 

“I’m s-so sorry” Chanyeol says still groggy. 

 

“Why are you sorry?” Baekhyun asks concerned before turning to the psychologist “What did you do?”

 

“Just some hypnotherapy!” Dr Kang says acting offended “He’s particularly sensitive to it, fascinating really.” 

 

“What the fuck did you do” Kyungsoo says letting his own anger get the best of him.

 

“Ow! Not so hard with the rocks!” Dr Kang yells in pain as the rocks around her legs tighten “I just suggested he should feel guilty about his relationship with Baekhyun, you’re a lot meaner than I pictured by the way. Anyway, he started freaking out after that so I made him sleep.”

 

“Kyungsoo give me one good reason she should keep her sight!” Baekhyun spits. 

 

“Hey woah woah!” Dr Kang says getting scared “I didn’t do anything! I just wanted to test the effect of the suggestion! He woke up mumbling your name so I used it! I swear I didn’t know he’d react like that!”

 

“You think I give a fuck about that?” Baekhyun yells moving away from Chanyeol. 

 

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to hurt you!” Chanyeol yells finally opening his eyes “You have to believe me Baekhyun!”

 

“I do!” Baekhyun says immediately going back to Chanyeol, his features softening when he looks at his boyfriend “You didn’t hurt me I promise. I’m not hurt at all.”

 

“I-I took advantage of you” Chanyeol says shakily sitting up “You were vulnerable and scared and I’m so sorry. I thought you wanted me too, I swear.”

 

“Chanyeol I don’t know what you think happened but we’re dating for real.” Baekhyun says looking into Chanyeol’s eyes. “I love you.”

 

“But-” Chanyeol says looking away. 

 

“You were hypnotized” Baekhyun says softly “I promise you, you have nothing to be guilty about. You’ve been the best friend I could have ever asked for and a wonderful boyfriend. You’re my everything. I love you so much I-”

 

Baekhyun cuts himself off to wrap his arms around Chanyeol. Letting all his pent up emotions melt away into the comfort of the hug. After a few seconds, Chanyeol hugs back pulling Baekhyun even tighter into the hug. 

 

“I love you” Baekhyun repeats feeling the emotion with his whole body “Don’t leave me like that again.”

 

“I won’t” Chanyeol says still trying to grasp reality, he still feels awful but he believes Baekhyun. “I promise.”

 

“See everything’s fine” Dr. Kang says “So let me go.”

 

“I might have disagreed with Baekhyun’s plan to blind you and ‘let your skin burn till you become a raspberry sour patch kid’, but I think you can stay put until someone breaks you out of that.” Kyungsoo says “Come on guys let’s get out of here.”

 

~=+•+=~

 

Sehun and Junmyeon run down the hall looking for rooms where Tao and Kris could be. They check every room they come across but so far it’s just been offices or labs, completely empty. Suddenly a bunch of red emergency lights come on as well as a blaring alarm. So much for sneaking. 

 

“Do you think it’s a fire alarm?” Sehun asks scared. 

 

“Probably an intruder alert, but if it is actually fire, it’s probably Chanyeol” Junmyeon says before closing an office door “Let’s just keep looking for Kris and Tao.”

 

They keep running finding more and more labs and a few more offices. Eventually, they find a door with a different label than the rest.

 

“Surveillance room?” Sehun reads “Do you think anyone’s in there.”

 

“Probably” Junmyeon says preparing two water balls to throw at guards if there are any “Get your wind powers ready.”

 

Junmyeon opens the door and out of pure fear Sehun throws a 100km gust into the room throwing the chairs and people in them violently into the wall. 

 

“You don’t think they’re-” Sehun says terrified, he didn’t mean to kill anyone!

 

“They’re alive” Junmyeon says feeling their pulses “Just unconscious.”

 

“Oh thank god” Sehun says sighing out of relief. 

 

“Text the others and let them know we have control of the cameras.” Junmyeon says before looking at all the screens “I’m not sure they were even awake before this, they didn’t set off the alarm when we first would have appeared on the video security feed. I mean this has to cover the whole facility including-”

 

“Why did you stop talking?” Sehun says looking up from his phone. 

 

“I found them” Junmyeon says pointing at the screen. “Can you call Jongin and Luhan? They are the closest. If you put him on speaker I can give them directions.”

 

“Jongin?” Sehun asks as Jongin answers the call before putting him on speaker like Junmyeon asked “Junmyeon has something to tell you.”

 

“Hey, Jongin so I’m looking at the security cameras and you two are closest to Kris and Tao so I’ll guide you there” Junmyeon explains “Just keep going straight.”

 

“Ok” Jongin answers before turning to Luhan to explain.

 

 Junmyeon watches closely as they start running forward ready to let them know when they need to turn. 

 

“Ok so at the T with the big mirror, turn to the left. Their cells could be three doors ahead, room 152.” Junmyeon explains looking at the video feed. “There’s one guard so before turning the corner, Luhan use your power to steal his gun.”

 

“Got it” Jongin says before they arrive at the T. 

 

Junmyeon watches as Jongin and Luhan tuck in against the wall, Luhan looking around just enough to see the guard. Suddenly the guard is launched into the air. Luhan frowns, clearly he meant to do that with the gun and not the person. The guard lands with a thump before quickly getting up to grab his gun. Luhan notices and swiftly uses his power to grab the gun before the guard can. Luhan points it at the guard as Jongin runs over to enter the room where Kris and Tao’s cell is. Luhan follows him before what seems like threatening the guard and closing the door behind him. Junmyeon wishes they had audio with the cameras. 

 

Jongin doesn’t even bother going to pick the lock, he just teleports him and Luhan into the cell. After a very short conversation, all 4 disappear from the cell. 

 

“Where did you go?” Junmyeon asks since they never hung up the call. 

 

“Home” Jongin answers “I thought now would be a good time to start getting everyone out. So far there’s no sign of any agents but if one shows up I’m sure Luhan can deal with it.”

 

“Ok that sounds good” Junmyeon agrees, Jongin is really mature when the time calls for it and Junmyeon can’t help but feel proud “If you teleport back near the closet you’ll be pretty close to Kyungsoo, Chanyeol and Baekhyun.”

 

“Ok good, I’ll do that” Jongin says before making the trip. 

 

“Alright just turn around 180 degrees and go straight” Junmyeon says once he sees Jongin on the screen again “Honestly if you scream they’ll probably hear you.”

 

“Worth a try” Jongin says before lowering the phone “Guys come here it’s Jongin! We’re going home!”

 

Junmyeon notices as Kyungsoo Baekhyun and Chanyeol all start walking towards Jongin, success. 

 

“Hyung what’s that?” Sehun says pointing towards a bunch of new black trucks with the words SWAT painting in big letters.

 

“Shit” Junmyeon curses “Jongin get them out of there now, the police are coming and we have no explainable excuse for being here.”

 

“Wait why” Sehun says confused “We’re the victims! Why would it matter?” 

 

“We might be victims but we broke into a bunch of their facilities and we have done so many things we can’t explain. They might figure out we’re the people with powers the Red Force keeps talking about and then...” Junmyeon presses his lips together stopping his train of thought “Trust me it’s better if we aren’t seen here.”

 

“Junmyeon where should I teleport in?” Jongin asks interrupting their conversation. 

 

“Uhhh” Junmyeon says before looking at the location of the police and Yixing, Minseok and Jongdae. Apparently, they noticed the police because they're hiding but Junmyeon can’t see him on any of the video feeds “I’m going to have to call you back.”

 

Junmyeon quickly calls Yixing to find out where they are hiding. 

 

“Yixing where are you?” Junmyeon asks. 

 

“Bathroom” Yixing whispers “Standing on a toilet.”

 

“Ok good stay there” Junmyeon says looking at the digital map. 

 

Of course, there’s no camera in the bathroom but there’s one just out front. Junmyeon quickly calls Jongin back to let him know where he can teleport safely. It’s hard to find a spot Jongin knows he can teleport to, close to the bathroom and without any police around but they find one together. 

 

“Hyung what about us?” Sehun asks concerned “The police are headed this way.”

 

“Oh my god you’re right” Junmyeon says looking at the screen, somehow he completely forgot they needed a way out too “We need to distract them till Jongin comes, that’s the only way.”

 

Junmyeon concentrates hard on the water in the pipes hoping if he cracks a few pipes it could give them the time they need before Jongin comes. He tries really hard to feel the water and command it to explode the pipes. He’s shaken out of his concentration when he feels water being spit all over him. 

 

“Why are the sprinklers going off?” Sehun says trying to cover his head with a book “There’s no fire anywhere!”

 

“Yeah, that’s my fault” Junmyeon says quickly before going to check the video feed but the water seems to have blown the electronics “Great we have no way of knowing if that worked.”

 

“Jongin please come save us!” Sehun says into his phone “I don’t want to be dissected!”

 

“Jongin if you can please try teleporting to us, the video is down so I can’t help you pick a spot” Junmyeon says after taking the phone from Sehun “Do you think you can teleport to us by thinking about us?”

 

“I’ve never done that...” Jongin says thinking about it. 

 

Junmyeon hears footsteps getting way too close and immediately hangs up the phone and hopes the police didn’t hear them talking. He tries pulling Sehun to a part of the room the police won’t see them if they just open the door and peek in. Hopefully, the police will focus on the unconscious Red Force agents and not look for them. However, even when Junmyeon pulls on Sehun with considerable force, Sehun refuses to move. Junmyeon panics to grab Sehun as he sees the door handle move but the door never opens. 

 

“Officer Kim open the door!” They hear from outside the door. 

 

“I can’t sir! It’s like there’s a vacuum keeping it shut!” Officer Kim answers. 

 

Junmyeon looks down at Sehun’s hands and realizes what’s happening. Sehun is using wind to keep the door shut. 

 

“How long can you do that for?” Junmyeon whispers. 

 

“It’s... hard” Sehun says making a face “2 minutes max.”

 

“We better hope Jongin finds us.” Junmyeon says before starting to think up cover stories for the police find them. They are never mentioned by name anywhere in the Red Force files, not even as test subjects. They won’t get arrested right? They’ll get out, won’t they? They won't figure out they have powers... Junmyeon better find a good lawyer. 

 

“Hyung I can’t do this for much longer” Sehun says quietly “What’s the chance they give up and leave?”

 

“They might” Junmyeon says hoping it’s true “Just keep holding on as long as you can Sehunnie.”

 

“Holding onto what?” Jongin says looking down at the two boys “Woah how is it so drafty in there?”

 

“You kinda answered your own question” Sehun smiles playfully before looking at his hands to be extra clear “But please get us out now, I don’t know how much more I can do this and the police are right outside the door!”

 

Jongin doesn’t waste another second and grabs both of the boys and teleports out. 

 

~=+•+=~

 

_ 16th September 2018, Tao’s House, South Korea _

 

Tao wakes up to the sound of chirping birds, normally that would be annoying but after all they’ve been through he’s just happy to be home. After a good night’s sleep, Tao is ready to check if everything they’ve done has worked. If they really did change the future and save millions of lives. He’s getting more and more nervous that they haven’t done enough and one member will get out and start the organization all over again and-

 

“Tao?” Junmyeon asks before wrapping his arm around Tao’s waist to cuddle up even closer to his boyfriend “You ok?”

 

“Yeah” Tao sighs turning around to face Junmyeon “Just stressed about the trip to the future.”

 

“If the Red Force isn’t stopped yet, we can still do it” Junmyeon says looking lovingly into Tao’s eyes “It’s ok if this isn’t over yet, as much as I’d love for us to move on with our lives, we’ll do anything we need to stop them.”

 

“I guess you’re right” Tao nods before finally sitting out of bed “Time to go check.”

 

“Mmm” Junmyeon says grabbing Tao’s arm “I think you can wait a little bit, the bed is so nice and warm, I’d hate to be here alone.”

 

“It can wait till noon” Tao smiles getting back in. 

 

“Of course it can” Junmyeon smiles before pulling Tao in for a kiss. 

 

~=+•+=~

 

“How long does it take to find out if a continent was wiped out?” Sehun says pacing around the living room “He’s been gone for like 40 minutes, did they ban google in the future? It takes like 3 seconds to look stuff up!”

 

“Maybe he’s talking to a friend or grabbing his favourite stuffy” Jongdae says kicking his legs up on the coffee table before Junmyeon wacks them off. 

 

“I’m sure he’s just being extra careful to make sure we had no negative side effects” Minseok says “The amount of time it’s taking is a good sign.”

 

“What kind of stuffy do you think he sleeps with?” Jongdae continues ignoring Minseok “I bet it’s a bunny.”

 

“I don’t sleep with a stuffy I’m an adult” Tao says rolling his eyes. 

 

“Tao!” Chanyeol exclaims “Please tell us it’s good news!”

 

“Well, I have some good news and bad news.” Tao says leaning on the couch “Good news is, we were completely successful, the Red Force is gone and the Americas and Africa are very much intact and doing well. The bad news is I don't have a job with the government anymore and I wasted all my life savings on diamonds, diamonds that I brought here because I think you could all use some compensation for your work.”

 

“Does that mean I won’t be paying off student loans till I’m 35?” Baekhyun asks looking very excited. 

 

“Dude he just said we saved the world and you’re thinking about money?” Jongdae says looking at Baekhyun confused.

 

“You really haven’t looked into university financing, have you?” Baekhyun responds. 

 

“I can’t believe we really did it” Jongin says in awe “We stopped the Red Force for good.”

 

“We’re free to live our lives” Yixing says with a smile.

 

“Now to figure out how to do that” Luhan laughs. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm actually so pained to see this end but I'm also super proud to have actually finished it. I hope the ending is good enough but I have a little epilogue and a spin-off XiuChen that I might post if anyone wants. If you have any questions (like even their backstories or what they'll do in the future) feel free to ask me at https://tellonym.me/JongdaesDimple


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